The shortest X-ray flashes ever measured can freeze electrons mid-motion inside atoms

An attosecond is a billionth of a billionth of a second — and scientists at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California have now proven they can make high-energy X-ray flashes that brief: 100 to 400 attoseconds, reported in Nature Photonics. Hard X-rays are special because they punch deep into dense matter that softer light cannot enter. With flashes this fast, researchers can photograph electrons in their untouched state — 'essentially outrunning the damage' the X-rays themselves cause, says lead author Ichiro Inoue of the University of Tokyo. Oxford plasma physicist Sam Vinko has already used them to catch fleeting states inside star-hot plasma 'before they had time to evolve' — a first at any such facility.

SDG 9 · Industry, innovation and infrastructure — Mechanism: tech innovation