A Quadrillionth of a Second: Russian Students to Observe Atomic Vibrations
Students at Moscow State University’s branch in the nuclear city of Sarov will soon gain access to cutting-edge femtosecond optics labs.
Russia’s National Center for Physics and Mathematics (NCPM) is opening new laboratories equipped with femtosecond optics for student training. This ultrashort unit of time is widely used in the nuclear industry for researching atomic processes and developing new technologies.
Femtosecond laser pulses make it possible to generate, detect, and study extremely brief chemical reactions and transitional states. For example, a single atomic vibration within a molecule takes between 10 and 100 femtoseconds. A femtosecond equals one quadrillionth of a second—the ratio of a femtosecond to a second is roughly the same as that of a second to 31.69 million years.
Alongside these hands-on training labs located directly in the academic building, NCPM plans to add "megascience" and "midiscience" complexes by 2030. These large-scale research facilities will enable unique experiments and form the foundation for future megascience installations.
At the heart of NCPM’s educational mission is the Sarov branch of Lomonosov Moscow State University. The center itself was established on the initiative of the state corporation Rosatom.
