One blink takes longer than the shortest unit of time. Amazing isn’t it? Atomic physicists from Goethe University Frankfurt, the Fritz Haber Institute in Berlin and DESY (German Electron Synchrotron research center) in Hamburg have measured the smallest unit of time, i.e., zeptosecond. It is equal to the trillionth of a billionth of a second, or a decimal point followed by 20 zeroes and a 1. Scientists have measured that it takes 247 zeptoseconds for a light particle to cross one hydrogen molecule (H2). To measure the unit, they irradiated (expose something to radiation) a hydrogen molecule using X-rays from the PETRA III laser. Such finding would help to precisely measure the atomic changes through photoelectric effect.
PETRA: Positron-Elektron-Tandem-Ring-Anlage (Facility).
Photoelectric effect: emission of electrons when electromagnetic radiation, such as light, hits a material. Electrons emitted in this manner are called photoelectrons.