Editing Attosecond (section)

== Applications ==

=== Need for more precise units ===
The [[Crystal structure|crystal lattice]] vibrates and molecules rotate on a scale of [[Picosecond|picoseconds]]. The creation and breaking of chemical bonds and molecular vibration happen in femtoseconds. Observing the motion of electrons happens on the attosecond scale.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1999 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1999/press-release/ |access-date=2023-10-24 |website=NobelPrize.org |language=en-US}}</ref>

The number of electrons in an atom and their [[Configuration management|configuration]] define an [[Elementary particle|element]]. Because attosecond pulses are faster than the motion of electrons in atoms and molecules, attosecond provides a new tool for controlling and measuring [[Quantum state|quantum states]] of matter.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Canada |first=National Research Council |date=2017-06-15 |title=Importance of attosecond research |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/national-research-council/news/2017/06/importance_of_attosecondresearch.html |access-date=2023-11-04 |website=www.canada.ca}}</ref> These pulses have been used to explore the detailed physics of atoms and molecules and have potential applications in fields ranging from electronics to medicine.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Nobel Prize in Physics 2023 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2023/press-release/ |access-date=2023-11-05 |website=NobelPrize.org |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Directly observing the wave oscillations of light ===
Using a method called [https://www.nature.com/articles/srep35594 attosecond streaking], people can see the electrical components of [[Electromagnetic radiation|EM waves]]. Scientists start with a gas of neon atoms and ionize them with a single ultrashort burst of [[Ultraviolet|UV radiation]] measured in attoseconds. The electric field of the [[infrared]] can then strongly influence the motion of the electrons. The electrons will be forced up and down as the field oscillates. Depending on when the electron is released, this process will emit different final energies. The final measurement of the electron's energy, as a function of the relative delay between the two pulses, clearly shows the traces of the electric field of the attosecond pulse.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Goulielmakis |first1=E. |last2=Uiberacker |first2=M. |last3=Kienberger |first3=R. |last4=Baltuska |first4=A. |last5=Yakovlev |first5=V. |last6=Scrinzi |first6=A. |last7=Westerwalbesloh |first7=Th. |last8=Kleineberg |first8=U. |last9=Heinzmann |first9=U. |last10=Drescher |first10=M. |last11=Krausz |first11=F. |date=2004-08-27 |title=Direct Measurement of Light Waves |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1100866 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=305 |issue=5688 |pages=1267–1269 |doi=10.1126/science.1100866 |pmid=15333834 |bibcode=2004Sci...305.1267G |s2cid=38772425 |issn=0036-8075}}</ref>

=== Short pulses of light ===
The 2023 [[Nobel Prize in Physics]] was [[List_of_Nobel_laureates_in_Physics#Laureates|awarded]] to [[Pierre Agostini]], [[Ferenc Krausz]], and [[Anne L'Huillier]] for demonstrating a way to create "almost unimaginably" short [[pulse]]s of light, measured in attoseconds. These pulses can be used to capture and study rapid processes inside [[atom]]s, such as the behavior of electrons.<ref name=bbcnobel>{{cite news |last=Gill |first=Victoria  |date=3 October 2023 |title=Nobel Prize for 'attosecond physicists' Agostini, L'Huillier and Krausz |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-66964430 |work=[[BBC]]|access-date=8 May 2024}}</ref><ref name=nytnobel>{{cite news |last1=Bubola|first1=Emma|last2= Miller|first2= Katrina |date=3 October 2023 |title=Nobel Prize in Physics Awarded to 3 Scientists for Illuminating How Electrons Move|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/03/science/nobel-prize-physics.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|url-access=subscription|access-date=8 May 2024}}</ref>