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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

An atom shuffles its electrons at ultrahigh speed — and is caught in the act

Scientists capture the movement of electrons in a xenon atom, a phenomenon that lasts for a fraction of one-billionth of a second.
Diagram of the nuclear composition and electron configuration of an atom of xenon-132.

A xenon atom’s electrons (grey circles; illustration) have been observed and even manipulated as they shifted their position. Credit: Carlos Clarivan/Science Photo Library

Pairs of light waves can be used to observe and manipulate a single electron as it moves inside an atom — motion that happens on the timescale of one-millionth of one-billionth of a second.

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Nature 592, 10 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-00773-x

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