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Home > Ahmed H. Zewail


Ahmed Hassan Zewail ( Arabic: أحمد زويل) (born February 26, 1946) is an Egyptian chemist, and the winner of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on femtochemistry. Born in Damanhur (60km south-east of Alexandria) and raised in Disuq , he received his first degrees from the University of Alexandria before moving to the US to complete his PhD at the University of Pennsylvania. After some postdoctorate work at UC Berkeley, he was awarded a faculty appointment at Caltech in 1976, where he has remained since. In 1990 he was made the first " Linus Pauling Chair in Chemical Physics".

Zewail's key work has been as the pioneer of femtochemistry - i.e. the study of chemical reactions across femtosecondA femotosecond is the SI unit of time equal to 10-15 of a second. The word femtosecond is formed by the prefix femto and the unit second''. Its symbol is fs . The waves of visible light oscillate with a period of about 1 femtosecond. For a list of times os. Using a rapid laserFor alternative meanings see laser (disambiguation). A laser light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation is a device which uses a quantum mechanical effect, stimulated emission, to generate a coherent beam of light. Light from a laser is often technique (consisting of ultrashort laser flashes), the technique allows the description of reactions at the atomFor alternative meanings see atom (disambiguation). An atom is a microscopic structure found in all ordinary matter around us. Atoms are composed of 3 types of subatomic particles: electrons, which have a negative charge; protons, which have a positive chic level. It can be viewed as a highly sophisticated form of flash photographyA photographic flash is a device that produces a flash of light required for indoor or other low light conditions. The earliest flashes consisted of a wad of magnesium powder that was ignited by hand. Later, magnesium filaments were contained in flash bul.

In 1999, Zewail became the third Egyptian to receive the Nobel Prize, following Anwar SadatMohamed Anwar el-Sadat ( December 25, 1918 October 6, 1981) was an Egyptian politician and President from 1970 to 1981. He was born in Mit Abu al-Kum, al-Minufiyah, Egypt. He graduated from the Royal Military Academy in Cairo and joined an officers' group (1978 in Peace) and Naguib MahfouzNaguib Mahfouz (born December 11, 1911) is an Egyptian novelist. Naguib Mahfouz was born in the Gamaliya quarter of Cairo. A longtime civil servant, Mahfouz served in the Ministry of Mortmain Endowments, then as Director of Censorship in the Bureau of Art (1988 in Literature). Other international awards have included the Wolf PrizeThe Wolf Prize has been awarded annually since 1978 to living scientists and artists for "achievements in the interest of mankind and friendly relations among peoples", "irrespective of nationality, race, colour, religion, sex or political views". The pri in Chemistry (1993) and the Robert A. Welch Award (1997). In 1999 he received Egypt's highest state honour, the Grand Collar of the Nile .



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