Lise Meitner, born #OnThisDay in 1878, was a physicist who made significant contributions to the field of nuclear physics. She was involved in the discovery of protactinium, a radioactive element that is produced by the decay of uranium. She also coined the term "nuclear fission" to describe the process of splitting an atomic nucleus into smaller fragments, releasing energy and neutrons. She was the first woman to become a physics professor in Germany, and she had to flee the country due to the Nazi persecution of Jews. Meitner was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physics and Chemistry 49 times (19 times for Chemistry and 30 times for Physics), but never won. Many people consider this a great injustice, as her colleague Otto Hahn received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their joint discovery of nuclear fission.

The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics 🏅 The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded to three scientists who developed experimental methods to generate extremely short pulses of light that can be used to study the dynamics of electrons in matter. These pulses are measured in attoseconds, which are one billionth of a billionth of a second. By using these pulses, the scientists were able to observe and manipulate the movements and interactions of electrons inside atoms and molecules, which are the building blocks of matter. The three laureates are: Pierre Agostini, a French physicist who works at The Ohio State University in the USA. He was the first to produce and investigate a series of consecutive light pulses, each lasting 250 attoseconds, in 2001. He used a technique called high-order harmonic generation, which involves shining intense laser light on a gas and creating overtones of light with higher frequencies and shorter wavelengths. Ferenc Krausz, a German physicist who works at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Germany and the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. He was also working on high-order harmonic generation, but he managed to isolate a single light pulse that lasted 650 attoseconds, in 2001. He used a technique called carrier-envelope phase stabilization, which involves controlling the phase difference between the electric field and the envelope of a laser pulse. Anne L’Huillier, a French physicist who works at Lund University in Sweden. She discovered the phenomenon of high-order harmonic generation in 1987, when she transmitted infrared laser light through a noble gas and observed many different overtones of light. She has continued to explore this phenomenon and laid the groundwork for the subsequent breakthroughs by Agostini and Krausz. The Nobel Prize in Physics 2023 recognizes the contributions of these three scientists to the field of attosecond physics, which has opened up new possibilities for understanding and controlling the world of electrons. This could have applications in many areas, such as electronics, chemistry, biology, and medicine. For example, attosecond pulses could be used to identify different molecules, monitor chemical reactions, create new materials, or improve medical diagnostics. Source: NobelPrize.org 📷Courtesy of Ohio State University, Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, and BBVA Foundation respectively