Researchers Announce Development of Atom Laser
At a glance:
- Series: Great Events: 1900-2001
- Categories: Science, Technology, Inventions
- Subcategories: Scientists, Physics, Physicists
- Curriculum: American History 1951-present
- Geographical Location: Massachusetts, New England
- Date: January 27, 1997
Article abstract: Physicists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced the success of an elementary version of a laser that produced a beam of atoms rather than a beam of light.
Chilling Gas Atoms
Air is primarily oxygen and nitrogen. At room temperature, molecules of these gases zip about with the astonishing average speed of 1,600 feet (490 meters) per second—one and one-half times the speed of sound. Cooling the air will cause its molecules to travel slower. Scientists once thought that if a gas were cooled to absolute zero on the...
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