Quantum Mechanics

NIST atom trap(October 16, 2008)
Trapped atoms make possible high-precision atomic clocks

Atom Wave Cloaking(March 17, 2008)
A new scheme would make a region of space invisible to atom waves

World's Smalles Diamond Ring(March 13, 2008)
Australian scientists have made a diamond ring only 4 microns across

World's Smallest Diamond Ring(March 14, 2008)
Australian scientists have made a diamond ring only 5 microns across.

Atom Wave Cloaking(March 12, 2008)
A new scheme would make a region of space invisible to atom waves

Guided Atom Laser(December 20, 2006)
An atom laser can now emit its atom waves sideways on a quasi-continuous basis.

Metallic Water(August 30, 2006)
Under some conditions of high pressure and temperature, water is expected to act like a metal.

Sharpest Manmade Thing(August 9, 2006)
A new etching method allows needles to be tapered down at the end to the width of a single atom.

Measuring Gravity at the Micron Scale(August 9, 2006)
Quantum and gravity measurements mix for the first time.

Sharper Electron Microscope Pix(February 17, 2006)
A new addition to electron microscopes will improve contrast for difficult-to-image biological subjects.

Thermodynamic Evidence for Fermi Superfluidity(July 5, 2005)
In efforts to find a superfluid state in ultracold Fermi gases, researchers are making measurements of the gas's thermodynamic properties such as its heat capacity.

240 Electrons Set in Motion(March 3, 2005)
Light can be used to excite all 240 valence electrons in a C-60 molecule

How Atoms Release Their Stress(October 19, 2004)
Researchers have experimentally observed that atoms can shed their excess energy by giving it to a neighbor.

Evidence for Superfluidity in an Atom-Based Fermi Gas(April 13, 2004)
Pictures and movies of an ultracold lithium-6 gas acting like a "perfect jelly".

One-dimensional BEC(December 18, 2003)
A true one-dimensional atomic system, in the form of a Bose-Einstein condensate, has been made, for the first time.

Non-Contact Friction(September 4, 2003)
Two bodies can interact frictionally without actually touching.

Ultracold Fermi Gas(August 27, 2003)
Fermionic atoms can pair up at microkelvin temperatures.

BEC Bragg Explosion(April 22, 2003)
A Bose Einstein condensate (BEC), held in place by an "optical lattice" of laser light, can scatter from this same lattice, creating a sort of explosion.

Non-Equilibrium BEC(January 13, 2003)
A BEC, created in such a way that initially not all atoms are at the same temperature, will oscillate in a characteristic way.

Lopsided Expansion of an Ultracold Gas(December 27, 2002)
Physicists have witnessed a bizarre, lopsided expansion of an ultracold atomic gas.

Longest-Lived Atomic State Measured(December 4, 2002)
By watching atoms in a distant planetary nebula, scientists have determined the lifetime of the longest-lived atomic state ever measured.

Bi-photon de Broglie Wavelength(November 13, 2002)
The wavelength of an entangled photon pair has been measured directly in an interference experiment for the first time.

Making Anti-Hydrogen(October 29, 2002)
An apparatus combines positrons with anti-protons to make neutral anti-hydrogen atoms.

Soliton Train in Bose-Einstein Condensates(May 7, 2002)
In the latest stunning demonstration of the wavelike nature of matter, researchers have made "bright solitons" in a Bose-Einstein condensate.

The Nevatron, A Neutral Atom Storage Ring(December 14, 2001)
Neutral atoms, guided around small chips by current-carrying wires, can now be loaded into, and circulate several times, a storage ring.

Quantum Holography(November 21, 2001)
Quantum holography is a newly proposed technique for viewing hidden objects.

Watching an Optical Tornado Reverse Its Spin (July 2, 2001)
For the first time, researchers have observed in detail a reversal in the spin of an optical vortex, a light beam with a central dark core.

All-Optical BEC (June 28, 2001)
For the first time a Bose-Einstein condensate of neutral atoms has been created in a trap which uses only laser beams to confine the atoms, not magnetic fields.

Bose-Einstein Vortices (May 10, 2001)
MIT researchers have created and magnified an array of vortices in a Bose-Einstein condensate.

BEC Papers (10 May, 2001)
The number of papers published in past years in the area of Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) has grown quickly.

Two-photon Laser (7 May, 2001)
A laser in which two photons are emitted by each atom, has been driven into a chaotic regime, with possible nonlinear optics applications possible.

Fermions vs Bosons Near Absolute Zero (23 March, 2001)
Trapping clouds of the two fundamental kinds of particles in nature, physicists have observed the striking differences between them at low temperatures.

Stopping Light (18 January, 2001)
Harvard physicists have stopped light in a vapor of rubidium atoms and have succeeded, for the first time, in transferring a coherent message from a light pulse to an atomic system.

Trilobite Molecules (September 14, 2000)
New research predicts the existence of a giant two-atom molecule with an electron cloud resembling a trilobite, the ancient, hard-shelled creature which lived in the Earth's seas over 300 million years ago

Braided Light (August 31, 2000)
A new theory predicts that two beams of light can twine around each other in a plasma environment.

Rubidium fountain clock (August 25, 2000)
Experimental setup for an atomic clock employing laser-cooled rubidium atoms.

Exploiting Quantum "Spookiness" to Encrypt an Image (April 24, 2000)
Employing the latest variation of the physics-based data-encryption scheme known as quantum cryptography, an Austrian research team securely transmitted an image of the "Venus" von Willendorf, one of the earliest known works of art.

Two-Electron Prison Break (January 10, 2000)
Electrons do not act alone when intense light liberates two of them from the prison of an atom.

Red Phase Oxygen (November 9, 1999)
Detailed studies of "red phase oxygen," an unusual form of solid oxygen made from molecules consisting of four oxygen atoms.

Chilled Mirrors (September 30, 1999)
Radiation pressure from laser light can be used to "cool" the thermal motion of mirrors by a factor of 20.

Vortices in a Bose Einstein Condensate (September 23, 1999)
Quantized vortices have been observed in Bose Einstein condensates of rubidium atoms.

Visualizing orbitals (September 17, 1999)
The likelihood clouds of electrons around copper atoms can be directly imaged using x-ray diffraction and electron microscopy.

An Ultracold Gas of Fermion Atoms (September 9, 1999)
Promising tabletop insights into such things as neutron stars and white dwarfs, physicists have created the coldest atomic gas yet of fermions--a class of matter which includes many of the building blocks of nature.

Quantum Non-Demolition (July 16, 1999)
How to look at a photon without destroying it.

Sculpted Wavepacket (May 20, 1999)
Short laser pulses can be used to shape the wave packet of an electron inside excited atoms.

Writing Words on an Atom (May 3, 1999)
Demonstrating of the huge amount of information that can be stored even in a single humble atom, physicists show how to write a word on hydrogen.

Atom Lasers: The Next Generation (March 31, 1999)
Pictures of 4 atom laser beams.

Parity Non-Conservation in Atoms (March 5, 1999)
Particle physics experiments can be performed on a tabletop

Measuring Planck's Constant (September 15, 1998)
Device for making precision measurements of one of the most fundamental constants in modern physics.

Using atom waves to measure gravity gradients (July 28, 1998)
Dual atom interferometers are used to measure gravity gradients.

Studying Bose Einstein Condensation in Hydrogen (July 17, 1998)
Probing Bose-Einstein condensation in hydrogen takes two photons, not just one.

Alignment of Single Molecules During a Collision (May 26, 1998)
Physicists now have the ability to learn how the alignment of single molecules during a collision can affect the outcome of the collision.

Three-Body System of Charged Particles (May 20, 1998)
Learn about a "three-body system" of three interacting charged particles.

Electron Waves in a Plane (May 11, 1998)
In this image, electron waves are seen to be breaking around two atom-sized defects.

Quantum Tunneling Transistor (February 4, 1998)
A transistor that exploits an electron's ability to pass through normally insurmountable energy barriers.

Localization of Light (January 23, 1998)
Physicists have demonstrated that light waves can be confined to very small spaces in certain materials.

Quantum Teleportation (December 12, 1997)
See how physicists transferred the properties of one object to a second, remote object.

Trojan Electrons (December 1, 1997)
See how a quantum-mechanical electron can transform into a planet-like object

Penning Trap (November 21, 1997)
See a diagram of a Penning trap, a device that uses electric and magnetic fields to trap charged particles.

Prospective Superfluid Molecular Hydrogen (October 7, 1997)
Physicists at the University of Illinois have predicted that a new type of superfluid is possible--one involving molecules of hydrogen rather than atoms of hydrogen.

Gravito-Optical Surface Trap (September 25, 1997)
See a diagram of a gravito-optical surface trap, a device that uses the force of gravity to help trap and cool atoms.

New Evidence for D-wave Superconductivity (June 23, 1997)
IBM researchers have found evidence supporting a leading theory of high-temperature superconductivity known as the 'd-wave' model.

Sending Digital Data with a Photon (June 19, 1997)
Researchers have theoretically determined how much information can be stored in a quantum particle such a photon.

Atom-Laser Beam: Interference Patterns (January 28, 1997)
Collections of atoms can behave like waves which can combine with other wavelike collections of atoms to produce interference patterns.

MIT's Atom Laser: How It Works (January 28, 1997)
This diagram shows how the MIT device produces laser-like beams of atoms.

Wavepackets, Molecules, and Playground Swings (October 21, 1996)
The behavior of quantum-mechanical wavepackets can be understood by making a comparison to a set of playground swings.

Wavepackets and Standing Waves (October 21, 1996)
See a visual depiction of a 'wavepacket,' a single composite wave made up of several individual waves combining with each other in a consistent fashion over time.

Superfluid Helium-3 (October 11, 1996)
See how atoms of the isotope helium-3 can form a superfluid, a liquid which flows without inner friction.

3-D Video Display (September 6, 1996)
See an image of a three-dimensional, full color video display.