The Nobel Physics Prize was granted to a trio of scientists for their attosecond work, which offers the scientific community a tool for the observation and possible manipulation of electrons.
2023 Nobel Prize in Physics: Attosecond Laser Pulses
The award was granted to French-Swedish physicist and professor Anne L'Huiller, French scientist and professor Agostini, and Hungarian-born professor Ferenc Krausz. The trio worked with the tiny segment of an atom that races within the center and is crucial to everything.
More specifically, they focused on electrons. These particles have extremely fast movement to the point where humanity has found it impossible to have them isolated. However, observing these in the tiniest fraction of time could allow scientists to catch a glimpse of them that could lead to incredible scientific opportunities. Mats Larsson, who is part of the Nobel Committee, explains that if electrons can be controlled or understood, this would be a massive step forward.
The scientific trio, who all worked independently, used ultrafast laser pulses to capture the action of the atom that took place in an attosecond, which is equivalent to a billionth of a second's billionth.
Researcher Hans Jakob Woerner from the Swiss University ETH Zurich explains that attoseconds are the shortest scales of time that humanity can directly measure.
It is crucial for the laser pulses to work at this incredible speed because this is how fast electrons move. In fact, it takes 150 attoseconds for electrons to rotate a hydrogen atom's nucleus.
Because of this, attosecond study has enabled scientists to look into fundamental processes that remained out of reach. Every piece of electronics is mediated by electron motion, but the speed limit at present lies at nanoseconds. Woerner explains that if this time frame in microprocessors were altered to attoseconds, it could make information processing incredibly faster.
Professor L'Huillier was the first to find a tool that enabled them to delve into the attosecond world. The tool involved using ultra powered lasers to produce light pulses for remarkably short periods. Researcher Franck Lepine from the Institute of Light and Matter in France, who has also worked with L'Huillier, expresses that the tool was like a cinema that was made for electrons.
A round of applause!
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 3, 2023
Students and colleagues at @lunduniversity came together to recognise newly named physics laureate Anne L’Huillier.
Drop a đź‘Ź in the comments to congratulate our new Nobel Prize laureate.
Video credit: Nina Ransmyr, Lund University pic.twitter.com/ZMhY9HzLfj
ALSO READ: Nobel Prize in Medicine Awarded to Proponents of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines
The Future of Science
At present, science centers on the understanding of the universe. However, it is the hopes of the scientific community that the findings would translate to practical applications in medicine, electronics, and chemistry.
L'Huillier notes that it is vital to work with fundamental science regardless of how the findings could be applied in the future. The professor spent three decades on the work before practical applications surfaced.
The experts also note that though maximizing attoseconds in mainstream technology is yet to be seen, the future still appears to be quite bright. At present, attosecond observations were only made among electrons. However, what remains to be seen is the possible control and manipulation of electron motion.
Being able to access the extremely fast world of motion of electrons could also lead to doors of advancements in drug design, circuity, battery materials, and medical diagnostic tools. Theoretical physicist Ignacio Cirac from the Max. Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, who is a colleague of professor Krausz, explains that the breakthrough offers physicists a tool for taming the world of microscopics.
RELATED ARTICLE: What Is the Nobel Prize? Understanding Its History, Significance, and Notable Winners
Check out more news and information on Physics & Math in Science Times.
