Nobel Prize in Physics 2023

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• News Summary: Nobel Prize in Physics 2023
• What exactly have the scientists done?
• A glimpse into Attosecond Physics
• How did they do this?
• Why is this work important?

Why in news?

• The Nobel Prize in Physics for 2023 has gone to three scientists - Anne L’Huillier, Pierre Agostini, and Ferenc Krausz.
• The work of these scientists made it easier to observe electrons and has potential applications in the field of diagnosing diseases and developing electronic gadgets.

News Summary: Nobel Prize in Physics 2023

• Anne L’Huillier, Pierre Agostini, and Ferenc Krausz have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for 2023.
• They have given humanity new tools for exploring the world of electrons inside atoms and molecules. 
• They have demonstrated a way to create extremely short pulses of light that can be used to measure the rapid processes in which electrons move or change energy.

What exactly have the scientists done?

• An atom, a tiny unit into which matter can be divided, is composed of a nucleus of protons and neutrons, and electrons that travel around this nucleus. 
• Electrons move so fast that it is impossible to observe them in real time.
  • For the human senses, rapid movements blur together, and extremely short events are not possible to observe.
  • Any measurement must be done more quickly than the time it takes for the system being studied to undergo a noticeable change, otherwise the result is vague.
• These three scientists produced pulses of light that last only attoseconds, which is 1×10−18 of a second.
• The short pulses of light thus produced can be used to measure the rapid processes in which electrons move or change energy.

A glimpse into Attosecond Physics

• Atoms’ natural time scale is incredibly short. In a molecule, atoms can move and turn in millionths of a billionth of a second, known as femtoseconds (10 −15 seconds).
• But when electrons move inside atoms or molecules, they do it so quickly that changes are blurred out even in a femtosecond.
• In the world of electrons, positions and energies change at speeds of between one and a few hundred attoseconds.
  • An attosecond is one billionth of a billionth of a second.
• An attosecond is so short that that the number of them in one second is the same as the number of seconds that have elapsed since the universe came into existence, 13.8 billion years ago
  • On a more relatable scale, we can imagine a flash of light being sent from one end of a room to the opposite wall – this takes ten billion attoseconds.
• So far, it was possible to observe atomic processes during the durational period of a femtosecond, nothing beyond that.
• This year’s laureates conducted experiments that opened up the new research field of attosecond physics.
  • The trio of scientists, in different countries, did the experiments that demonstrated that attosecond pulses could be observed and measured.

How did they do this?

• L’Huillier discovered that when a laser light wave was passed through a noble gas, it interacted with the atoms, giving some electrons extra energy that was then emitted as light.
• Pierre Agostini succeeded in producing and investigating a series of consecutive light pulses [or flashes of light], in which each pulse lasted just 250 attoseconds.
• Ferenc Krausz was working with another type of experiment, one that made it possible to isolate a single light pulse that lasted 650 attoseconds.
• These flashes of light made it possible to provide images of processes inside atoms.

Why is this work important?

• Attosecond physics gives us the opportunity to understand mechanisms that are governed by electrons. The next step will be utilising them.
• One possible application is to study molecular-level changes in blood, to identify diseases.
• A better understanding of how electrons move and transmit energy can also help in creating more efficient electronic gadgets.

Q1) What is an electron?

An electron is a subatomic particle with a negative electrical charge. It is one of the three primary types of particles within an atom, along with protons and neutrons.

Q2) What is femtosecond?

A femtosecond is a unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). It is equal to 10−15 or 1⁄1 000 000 000 000 000 of a second. In other words, it is one quadrillionth, or one millionth of one billionth, of a second.

Source:

• Nobel Prize in Physics 2023: What the three scientists have been awarded for
• NyTimes
• WION