Nobel Prize in Physics 2023: Shining a Light on Electrons

“We can now open the door to the world of electrons…,” noted Eva Olsson, the Nobel Prize for Physics Committee Chair.

Last October 3, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences selected 61-year-old Hungarian-Austrian Ferenc Krausz, 65-year-old French-Swedish Anne L’Hullier, and 82-year-old Pierre Agostini as the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics for their experiments on exploring the world of electrons.

Stockholm University Professor Mats Larsson noted that Krausz’s, Agostini’s, and L’Huillier’s contributions to producing extremely short light pulses can contribute to the early detection of diseases, such as lung cancer.  Their discoveries can help humans observe minuscule changes in a patient’s blood.

If scientists can confirm an illness as the changes’ origins, they can identify a patient’s disease at its beginning stages and swiftly treat diseases.

Scientists can detect these minute changes and manufacture high-speed electronics because the production of attosecond-long light pulses helps track the electrons’ extraordinarily rapid movement.

Image from https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2023/10/fig2_fy_en_23.pdf

Although other immediate applications may not appear, understanding electron movements can impact other fields, such as technology, by helping scientists understand the details of processes. 

The three scientists will each receive a third of the award and equally split 11 million Swedish Kronor during the awarding ceremony on December 10, 2023, in Stockholm, Sweden.