Australian scientists make quantum breakthrough

[Ichingcarpenter]

BRISTOL: In one of the most explicit demonstrations of wave-particle duality, scientists have successfully guided atoms in a laser light beam, the atoms displaying the same properties as light guided in an optical fibre.

The results will lead to important applications in atom interferometry, which is used to measure atomic properties and geophysical phenomena such as tides and ocean loading effects, and could potentially probe for ripples in the curvature of spacetime.



"We have imaged atomic speckle for the first time showing that guided atom-laser beams exhibit the same characteristics as guided laser light beams," said Ken Baldwin from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum-Atom Optics at the Australian National University in Canberra and co-author of the paper published in Nature Communications




http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/4297/australian-scientists-make-quantum-breakthrough

[bananas]

1. "e have imaged atomic speckle" - this thread is useless without pictures. nt

[Permanut]

2. Cool sfuff...

In introductory Physics class, back in 1962, we were introduced to the phenomenon of light behaving like both a wave and like a particle. Fascinating.

[benld74]

3. That's not a quantum breakthrough. THIS is a quantum breakthrough!!

[Confusious]

4. So when do I get my laser printer

That makes anything I want out of anything I want?