The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics was given to scientists Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz, and Anne L’Huillier “for experimental methods that generate attosecond pulses of light for the study of electron dynamics in matter.”
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which bestowed the honors, described the scientists’ work as “experiments, which have given humanity new tools for exploring the world of electrons inside atoms and molecules.” It was also mentioned that their work could boost medical diagnostics and electronics. (https://gunnewsdaily.com)
“Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz, and Anne L’Huillier 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,” it said.
“The laureates’ contributions have enabled the investigation of processes that are so rapid they were previously impossible to follow,” it added.
What was the purpose of the experiment?
As previously stated, these researchers conducted an experiment that produced attosecond light pulses. An attosecond is one-billionth of a second or one-quintillionth of a nanosecond.
This experiment allows scientists to examine the tiniest particles across the shortest timeframes, in this case, an attosecond. The laureates devised methods to generate these ultrafast laser pulses, which can be used to study our environment at the most minute scales and have applications in chemistry, biology, and physics.
L’Huillier is the fifth woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics
L’Huillier, who is only the fifth woman to receive a Nobel medal in physics, remarked after the announcement, “It is really a prestigious prize and I’m so happy to get it. It’s incredible.”
L’Huillier is a professor at Sweden’s Lund University, and Agostini is a professor at Ohio State University. Krausz is the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics’ director.
The Nobel Prizes are worth 11 million Swedish kronor ($1 million). The money was left by the prize’s originator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who died in 1896.
The announcement came a day after Hungarian scientist Katalin Kariko and her American colleague Drew Weissman were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for discovering mRNA molecules that paved the way for COVID-19 vaccinations.