Trio awarded Nobel Prize in physics for pioneering rapid light flashes capturing shortest moments

The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to scientists who developed a revolutionary laser-based technique to observe the ultra-rapid movements of electrons, a phenomenon previously deemed impossible to track. According to report in CNN, the laureates of this prestigious award, Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz, and Anne L’Huillier, have contributed significantly to the field of physics by devising a method to generate extraordinarily short pulses of light. These pulses enable researchers to measure the lightning-fast processes in which electrons change energy levels or move within atoms and molecules. The Nobel committee, in announcing the prize in Stockholm , lauded the scientists for providing humanity with innovative tools to explore the intricate world of electrons at the atomic and molecular levels. The movements of electrons within these structures are so rapid that they are measured in attoseconds, an incredibly brief unit of time, likened to "one second as one second is to the age of the universe." Bob Rosner, President of the American Physical Society and a professor at the University of Chicago, explained the significance of their work, stating that it allows scientists to witness the assembly of molecules and understand how various components come together, a process that unfolds in such rapid succession that it was previously beyond our observation, CNN reported. The Nobel laureates achieved this feat by employing precision lasers to generate ultra-short bursts of light. Anne L’Huillier, a professor at Lund University in Sweden, discovered a new effect resulting from the interaction between laser light and atoms in a gas. Subsequently, Pierre Agostini, a professor at Ohio State University, and Ferenc Krausz, a professor at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Germany , demonstrated how this effect could be harnessed to create even shorter pulses of light than was previously feasible. Anne L’Huillier's recognition as the fifth woman to win a Nobel Prize in Physics since its inception in 1901 underscores the groundbreaking nature of her contributions. Their research enables scientists to capture incredibly brief moments, likened to capturing the individual beats of a hummingbird's wing. Just as the naked eye cannot perceive these individual beats, scientists were previously unable to observe or measure the minute movements of electrons, which tend to blur together due to their rapidity. According to the report, this groundbreaking discovery not only aids in understanding electron properties but also holds practical applications, particularly in the semiconductor industry, where the radiation produced by their technique serves as an invaluable imaging tool. Dr. Olle Eriksson, a member of the committee that awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, emphasized that their method enables the study of electrons, the subatomic particles responsible for all chemical bonding, with unparalleled precision. While their technique doesn't allow direct visualization of electrons, it functions akin to a strobe light, capturing rapid movements and allowing scientists to measure various attributes of these electrically charged subatomic particles, CNN reported. Michael Moloney, Chief Executive of the American Institute of Physics , hailed this discovery as a transformative moment in science, opening up new avenues for probing the universe by understanding the fundamental processes governing chemical and physical reactions.