The Nobel Prize in physics was awarded to Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L¡¯Huillier on Tuesday for work that has ¡°given humanity new tools for exploring the world of electrons inside atoms and molecules,¡± the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said.
The laureates ¡°demonstrated a way to create extremely short pulses of light that can be used to measure the rapid processes in which electrons move or change energy,¡± the academy said. ¡°Fast-moving events flow into each other when perceived by humans, just like a film that consists of still images is perceived as continual movement. If we want to investigate really brief events, we need special technology.¡±
Following Tuesday¡¯s announcement, 62 women have won Nobel Prizes, with physicist and chemist Marie Curie winning twice. However, including L¡¯Huillier on Tuesday, only five have won in the physics category, while just two have taken home the economics prize.
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