1st atom laser

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@ix.netcom.com>]

This is an extremely interesting article and discusses the many 
possibilities that arise from this happening.
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 WASHINGTON, Jan. 27  -- Physicists at the Massachusetts Institute  
of Technology say they have built the world's first atom laser which
shoots highly controlled particles of actual matter. 
 Experts suggest the achievement may lead to more precise navigation 
equipment and machine tools as well as smaller, more efficient
computer chips. 
 Team leader Wolfgang Ketterle describes the discovery as ``exceeding 
 all expectations.''  The Cambridge, Mass.-based researchers report 
their findings in the current issue of Physical Review Letters and in 
Thursday's issue of the journal Science. 
 The more familiar laser used in everything from grocery scanners and 
 CD players to cosmetic surgery and communications is the photon 
laser. It was discovered in 1960 and shoots particles of light, or 
photons.  The new laser shoots atoms. Both kinds of lasers, however, 
line up the particles into what Ketterle calls ``one coherent 
dance.'' They are synchronized in wavelength and phase rather than 
randomly flitting around. 
 The atom laser uses ultracold particles of sodium. At temperatures 
more than a million times colder than outer space, atoms lose their
individuality and begin acting as one. This new state of matter was
first reported in July 1995 by researchers with the National Institute
for Standards and Technology and the University of Colorado. 
 Randall Hulet of Rice University in Houston says, ``I don't think any
  of us thought this (atom laser) would happen, if ever, for at least
several years. It's a really incredible demonstration.'' 

Sandy Perle
Technical Director
ICN Dosimetry Division
Office: (800) 548-5100 Ext. 2306 
Fax: (714) 668-3149

E-Mail: sandyfl@ix.netcom.com    

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