If you could stop time, here is what you might see: a bullet being shot through an apple, an egg being cracked into a fan, or a play-by-play of Pancho Gonzales's famous serve. MIT professor Harold Edgerton invented the strobe flash in the 1930s – and his stroboscopic photography captured amazing moments that would otherwise be missed in the blink of an eye

• Dr Harold Edgerton: Abstractions is at Michael Hoppen Gallery in London until 2 August