The movements of electrons outside the atomic nucleus are the fastest in the subatomic realm. They were first observed in the fall of 2001 through ultrashort light pulses occurring in the unimaginable realm of attoseconds. These pulses act like a kind of camera with extremely short exposure times. One attosecond is equivalent to a quintillion a second, and the ratio of an attosecond to a second is like that of a second to the age of the universe. For these measurements, among others, Ferenc Krausz received the Nobel Prize in Physics last year.
Attoseconds are, therefore, extremely fast. According to the superhero Flash, a DC comic character and adversary of Superman, his perception occurs in less than an attosecond. In real life, however, everything happens much slower and more relaxed.
To further motivate the sports-enthusiast runner Ferenc Krausz in this discipline, members of his research team, together with the U.S. sports shoe manufacturer Newton – nomen est omen – designed a custom-made running shoe for Krausz, which he accepted visibly moved. The shoe features the now-famous attosecond streaking trace and a reference to the 91 attoseconds, the shortest light pulse ever recorded at that time.
In the future, these shoes will motivate Krausz, like the ancient Greek messenger god Hermes, who wore winged sandals, to reach his goals even faster. It allows him one more time not to follow in the footsteps of others, but to create his own path.
At this point, a big thank you once again to the teams at attoworld and Newton Shoes!
Picture: Thorsten Naeser
