By Driti Gundana
The three winners of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics are being recognized for their experiments that have given humanity new tools to explore the electronic world inside atoms and molecules. Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L'Huillier have established a way to produce extremely short pulses of light that can be used to measure rapid processes in which electrons move or change energy.
Anne L’Huillier discovered that multiple overtones of light were observed when she shone infrared laser light through a noble gas. Each overtone was later distinguished into a light wave cycle. These occur due to the laser light interacting with the electrons of the element. These electrons suddenly gain energy which is further given out as light.
Pierre Agostini successfully created and studied a sequence of subsequent light pulses, each lasting only 250 attoseconds. Ferenc Krausz focused on a project that allowed him to separate out an individual light pulse with a duration of 650 attoseconds.
By creating light pulses that are so brief that they need to be measured in attoseconds, that is a quintillionth of a second (There are as many attoseconds in a second as there have been seconds since the universe's creation!). The laureates' research has shown that these pulses may be applied to capture pictures of events occurring inside atoms and molecules.
This can be compared to a high-speed camera .Using a conventional camera to capture a moving train will result in unclear images. A camera with a quick shutter speed, however, may halt the motion and capture a crisp image of the train.
This high, top of the art discovery can enable medical professionals to study molecular level changes in blood. Changes in these patterns of blood can signify towards a specific disease entrapped in a body. These illnesses can be as minor as a cold or as serious diabetes, cardiovascular disorder and even cancer. This enables medicine practises to conduct medical tests with greater accuracy and precision, thus providing a patient with delicate and personalised care.
This efficient method can help engineers and physicists comprehend how electrons travel through space-time and transmit energy wave forms. Thus creating electronic devices and gadgets of higher value with cutting edge designs and technology.
Real-time observation is impossible due to the incredibly fast motion of electrons. L'Huillier, Agostini, and Krausz's work has brought mankind one step closer to seeing and understanding the motion of electrons.
“We can now open the door to the world of electrons. Attosecond physics gives us the opportunity to understand mechanisms that are governed by electrons. The next step will be utilising them,” - Eva Olsson, Chair of Nobel Committee for Physics.
Bibliography:
1. n.a. “Nobel Prize in Physics 2023: What the three scientists have been awarded for” Indian Express. 4th Oct, 2023. Web. 17th Oct, 2023.
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/everyday-explainers/nobel-prize-in-physics-2023-what-for-8966824/lite/
2. n.a “Nobel Prize 2023 in Physics awarded to Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz, Anne L’Huillier for research on electrons in flashes of light” The Hindu. 3rd Oct, 2023. Web. 17th Oct, 2023.
https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/nobel-prize-physics-winner-2023-pierre-agostini-ferenc-krausz-anne-lhuillier/article67374928.ece
3. n.a “ Nobel Prize, Press Release” Nobel Prize. 3rd Oct, 2023. Web. 17th Oct, 2023. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2023/press-release/
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