VOA新闻杂志2023--Three Professors Share Nobel Physics Prize for Study of Electrons

Three Professors Share Nobel Physics Prize for Study of Electrons

Three European physics professors won the Nobel Prize on Tuesday for their work on a system that permits scientists to study electrons.

Electrons are one of the three particles that make up atoms.

They are so small, however, and move so fast, that scientists had never been able to observe them.

However, the work of French-Swedish physicist¹ Anne L'Huillier, French physicist Pierre Agostini and Hungarian-born physicist Ferenc Krausz solved that problem.

The professors carried out research that showed how ultra-fast light could permit scientists to "see" an electron for the first time.

"You can see whether it's on one side of a molecule² or on the other," L'Huillier, 65, said. "It's still very blurry³."

The system that came from their work creates light that shows the fast-moving electron in its orbit around the nucleus⁴.

Krausz's team first created the short light pulses in the early 2000s. He said the system is similar to a camera with a fast shutter⁵ speed that permits a photographer to capture a Formula One race car as it crosses the finish line.

Using a special camera with light to see a clear image of a hummingbird's fast wing movements is another example.

But the speed of an electron is so fast that it could not be captured before the scientists produced experiments that showed it was possible to create a flash of light in one quintillionth of a second.

Mats Larsson of the Nobel Committee said the electrons are the "workforce⁶" of the atom. "Once you can control and understand electrons, you have taken a very big step forward."

The method to study electrons should help scientists develop better electronic devices or study molecules⁷ for medical purposes.

L'Huillier is the fifth woman to receive the physics Nobel. She said her work is important because electrons are "how the atoms bind⁸ together," and where the chemical reactions happen.

She said she spent 30 years working on the project, and she wants other scientists to keep working on "fundamental science" no matter how it might be used in the future. It did not become clear how her work would be used in "the real world" until many years passed.

L'Huillier was in the middle of teaching a class at Lund University in Sweden when she got the news. "It's incredible," she said. She went back to teaching the class after being told of the prize.

Agostini is a retired⁹ professor at The Ohio State University. Krausz is a professor at the Max Planck Institute in Germany.

"I did not expect it," Krausz said. "I am overwhelmed," he added, asking if he was "in reality or it's just a long dream."

Agostini was in Paris when the news was announced but did not get a call from the Nobel Committee. He suggested the Nobel group was looking for him Columbus, Ohio, where Ohio State is located.

The 82-year-old said the prize was "good, but a bit late for me."

L'Huillier experimented with how a laser affects atoms in a gas causing electrons to produce light. Krausz worked on creating a system that could detect a single, very fast light pulse. Agostini was able to investigate a series of very fast pulses.

All the experiments showed that it would be possible one day to observe an image captured in an extremely small fraction of a second, known as an attosecond.

Physics is the second Nobel Prize of the week. Two scientists earned the medicine prize on Monday for their work on mRNA that led to COVID-19 vaccines¹⁰.

Chemistry, literature, peace and economics come next.

Words in This Story

ultra –prefix; beyond the limit

blurry –adj. unclear, not clearly seen

shutter –n. a device in a camera that admits light for a set period of time to capture an image

flash –n. a sudden burst of light

bind –v. to combine

fundamental –adj. something that serves as the support or basis of other things

overwhelmed –adj. to be strongly affected¹¹ by something

pulse –n. a brief increase in electricity or light

 

fraction –n. a part of a larger amount such as one half or one fourth

1 physicist   

n.物理学家，研究物理学的人

参考例句：

• He is a physicist of the first rank.他是一流的物理学家。
• The successful physicist never puts on airs.这位卓有成就的物理学家从不摆架子。

2 molecule   

n.分子，克分子

参考例句：

• A molecule of water is made up of two atoms of hygrogen and one atom of oxygen.一个水分子是由P妈̬f婘̬ 妈̬成的。
• This gives us the structural formula of the molecule.这种方式给出了分子的结构式。

3 blurry   

adj.模糊的；污脏的，污斑的

参考例句：

• My blurry vision makes it hard to drive. 我的视力有点模糊，使得开起车来相当吃力。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The lines are pretty blurry at this point. 界线在这个时候是很模糊的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 nucleus   

n.核，核心，原子核

参考例句：

• These young people formed the nucleus of the club.这些年轻人成了俱乐部的核心。
• These councils would form the nucleus of a future regime.这些委员会将成为一个未来政权的核心。

5 shutter   

n.百叶窗；(照相机)快门；关闭装置

参考例句：

• The camera has a shutter speed of one-sixtieth of a second.这架照像机的快门速度达六十分之一秒。
• The shutter rattled in the wind.百叶窗在风中发出嘎嘎声。

6 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

7 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

8 bind   

vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬

参考例句：

• I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
• He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。

9 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

10 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

11 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。