World's Fastest Flashbulb

Award winning scientist causes light to make itself shorter.

Photos of atoms, movies of chemical reactions now possible.

While a speeding bullet is quick, it's nothing compared to how quickly subatomic particles move, measured in increments called attoseconds (one attosecond is to a second what a second is to the age of the universe).

Dr. Paul Corkum, from the University of Ottawa, developed a way to make a pulse of light that lasts only 80 attoseconds, quick enough to capture images of the very small and extraordinarily fast-paced world of molecules and atoms. It's opened up a whole new way of visualizing and studying molecular processes and, for this remarkable achievement, he was awarded this year's Herzberg Gold Medal for Science and Engineering - Canada's most prestigious science award.

Audio: CBC Radio's Quirks & Quarks. Host: Bob McDonald.
News Release: Univerity of Ottawa.