Damien provided a quote:
> ...subsequently provided attosecond-scale measurements of a physical
> phenomenon (specifically, the detachment of an electron from an atom
> by an x-ray photon)."
Its also questionable whether attoseconds can be considered "technology".
>From the perspective that we have had single electron transistors
for some time (not in circuits though), that could be considered
attotech. Another example would be masers from back in the late
'50's or early '60's. Since atoms are on the of ~10^-10 meters
and a maser is raising or lowering an electron's energy level
around the atom, I could see it being down around the attometer scale.
Now the detachment of an electron from an atom by an x-ray photon
involves a much larger jump than occurs in a maser (where the electron
isn't bumped from the atom) so I'm somewhat dubious as to this being
"real" attotech.
Real attotech I think would involve engineering things like
positronium, muononium, perhaps advanced nucleus engineering
(new isotopes?). But I don't think you are going to see
real "technologies" on that scale soon because I don't think
we have a clue as to how to actually construct sub-atomic sized
structures that actually last any length of time.
Robert
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