Image of the Day: Shortest Artificial Light Burst in Human History --A Billionth of a Billionth of a Second

 

          

 

An advanced experimental system that can generate attosecond bursts of extreme ultraviolet light — the shortest controllable light pulses available to science — has been developed by researchers at Imperial College in London. An attosecond is 10-18 second, or a billionth of a billionth of a second. With these pulses, it’s possible to measure the dynamics of electrons in matter in real-time.

Advances in attosecond science may enable scientists to verify theories that describe how matter behaves at a fundamental level and how certain important chemical reactions — such as photosynthesis — work. Additional advances may eventually lead to the control of chemical reactions.

“Understanding how matter works at the level of its electrons is likely to lead to new scientific tools and to novel technologies,” said Felix Frank, of Imperial College and one of the authors on the paper forthcoming in the American Institute of Physics’ journal Review of Scientific Instruments. “In the future, this knowledge could help us to make better drugs, more efficient solar cells, and other things we can’t yet foresee.”

The researchers were able to produce these pulses by a process called high harmonic generation (HHG), using a high-power femtosecond laser system (femtoseconds are 1,000 times longer than attoseconds). The near infrared femtosecond laser pulses are corralled through a waveguide and a series of specialized mirrors, causing them to be compressed in time. With their waveforms precisely controlled, these compressed pulses are then focused into a gas target, creating an attosecond burst of extreme ultraviolet radiation.

The experimental system developed by the researchers is able to accurately measure the attosecond pulses and deliver them to a variety of experiments in conjugation with other precisely synchronized laser pulses.. With these pulses, it’s possible to measure the dynamics of electrons in matter in real-time.

The Daily Galaxy via imperial.ac.uk/

Image Credit: Attosecond laser pulse/Imperial College London

Comments

[George Botha]

I never cease to be amazed ....

This is quite neat.

[Azander]

Haven't experiments been done where they release one photon at a time? Wouldn't one photon be the shortest burst of light possible?

[Lyle]

The experiments that measure individual photons use *sources* that release photons relatively slowly, and use measuring techniques that allow you to measure them one at a time. However the release of the individual photons is not controlled artificially, and that is where this differs. At least that is my understanding, I am no expert.

[Trantorian]

Azander, I don`t think one photon qualifies as a "burst"... But the problem with a single photon is it cannot be used to measure anything besides time. Either it arrives, or it doesn`t, and just the time changes according to the medium. The novelty here is we can now release tons of photons at the same time to scan an area "with minimum shutter time" and repeat it a gazilion times per second. If having no blur when picturing an electron is already awsome, just imagine the prospect of filming one.

[matt]

by burst they really mean "controlled,coherent,and uniform pulses with consistent wavelength and amplitude"

[Sami]

Wow this is great, this means we can achieve even faster data rates on fiber optic cables

[SenthamilSeran Palaniappan]

wow it is very nice view.
Research in this quantum optics laser science (QOLS) is very essential for us.

[MarkmBha]

Dam that is FAST!!