Scientists have developed an atomic laser that can last forever, demonstrating the potential of the next-generation technology for commercial applications. Physicists have claimed that the newly developed atomic lasers could trigger a technological revolution like optical lasers.
Researchers have solved a problem with the basic concept of atomic lasers, 30 years since their introduction.
Atomic lasers, unlike ordinary optical lasers, are created from a phenomenon called Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of atoms emitting beams of matter.
These lasers require a lot of energy to survive and need to be super-cooled to survive. That’s why they could only work for very short periods of time until now.
“In previous experiments, the gradual cooling of atoms was done in one place,” said Professor Florian Schreck, who led the research. “In our setup, we decided to spread the cooling steps not over time but over space: We let the atoms move as they go through successive cooling steps. Eventually, the ultra-cold atoms reach the heart of the experiment, where they can be used to generate coherent matter waves inside a BEC.
But while these atoms are being used, new atoms are already on their way to replenish the BEC. In this way, we can continue the process essentially indefinitely.
Some scientists hope this will trigger a similar revolution in atomic optics, precision atomic clocks and other measurements of fundamental standards. One example could be ultra-high-resolution holographic images that would make augmented or virtual reality indistinguishable from reality.Having solved the problem of creating a continuous atomic laser, researchers now plan to use it to produce a stable matter beam output that will remove all obstacles to technical applications.The research is detailed in a study titled ‘Continuum Bose-Einstein condensation’, published this month in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Nature.
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