IF YOU want to watch a chemical reaction close up, you need a camera fast
enough to snap electrons as they make and break bonds. But electrons are speedy:
their movements are measured in attoseconds, and a billion billion attoseconds
go by every second. Ferenc Krausz at the Technical University of Vienna and his
team are the first to generate attosecond laser pulses that you could use to
watch electrons (Nature, vol 414, p 511). They shone a short pulse of
red laser light onto a jet of neon atoms. The laser鈥檚 oscillating electric field
pulled electrons out of the atoms and crashed them back in, sending out X-ray
pulses just 650 attoseconds long.
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Technology
Test moderators use AI-generated writing to judge literacy standards
News
Mind
THC in cannabis may reduce nightmares in people with PTSD
News
Environment
Fishers detonate a bomb every hour on one Indonesian coral reef
News
Environment
How bad is the UK drought and how long will it continue?
News
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles