The attosecond is a time interval of 10⁻¹⁸ seconds, used in ultrafast laser physics to measure electron dynamics. Events at this timescale are so brief that light itself only travels the length of a few atoms. Researchers use attosecond pulses to capture freeze-frame images of chemical bonds forming and breaking.
Heard on the job
The laser system generates a 200-attosecond pulse to map the electron orbit.