ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Attophysics

Attophysics is a branch of science that studies things that are incredibly small, like atoms and their parts, such as electrons and protons. It is like looking at things that are invisible to our eyes because they are too tiny.

Now, when scientists talk about things that are really, really small, they use something called "attoseconds." This is a unit of time that is equal to one quintillionth of a second, or one billionth of one billionth of a second. It's an incredibly tiny amount of time, but it's important because this is the amount of time it takes for subatomic particles like electrons to do their thing.

In attophysics, scientists study how these tiny particles behave, how they interact with each other, and how they can be controlled. Some of the things they study in attophysics include how to manipulate the properties of light to create incredibly short pulses of laser light that can be used to control the behavior of electrons.

They also study how electrons move around in atoms and molecules, which can help us understand chemical reactions and biological processes. Understanding these processes can lead to advances in fields like medicine, where new discoveries could lead to better treatments for diseases.

So, attophysics is all about studying things that are too small to see, which can help us understand how the world around us works and lead to new discoveries and technological advancements.