Optical cooling kit miniaturised in step towards cold atoms on a chip – E&T Magazine

Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have miniaturised the optical components for cooling atoms to near absolute zero. This is a significant step towards employing cold atoms on microchips.
At room temperature, atoms are constantly in motion, zooming around at approximately the speed of sound. Cooling the atoms reducing their kinetic energy causes them to slow to a crawl and fall to the lowest quantum state, displaying unusual properties. When atoms are cooled…

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