XLEAP Allows Scientists to see Attosecond Electron Motions
via SlashGear
Scientists at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have invented a way to observe movements of electrons with powerful bursts of an X-ray laser. The new technique allows scientists to measure electron movements using laser bursts that are only 280 attoseconds. An attosecond is a billionth of a billionth of a second.
The technology behind the discovery is called X-ray laser-enhanced attosecond pulse generation or XLEAP. The new tech is a significant advance that scientists have been working toward for years and paves the way for breakthrough studies of how electrons speed around molecules in crucial processes in biology, chemistry, and materials science, among others.