Atoms, Molecules, and Light AMO Science Enabling the Future (2002) / Chapter Skim
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6 AMO Science Expanding the Frontiers
6 AMO Science Expanding the Frontiers
Pages 35-42
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From page 35... ...
AMO research studies the basic symmetries of nature; the properties of space and time; unexplored aspects of quantum mechanics; the interaction of matter and light under extreme conditions; the structure and interactions of atoms and molecules; new forms of matter such as coherent atoms and superfluid atomic gases; and the deep connections between physics and information. Basic research often leads to totally unexpected applications, and while it is too early to judge the ultimate payoffs that may result from the advances and developments reported in this chapter, the joyful quest for knowledge and the promise of new technologies continue to drive and animate AMO science.
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From page 36... ...
.Yet it not only has been detected but also has been measure(1 accurately using laser spectroscopic techniques.Thus, a tabletop atomic physics experiment has provided a test of a fundamental theory; such tests normally require gigantic particle accelerators. Another puzzle that physicists are interested!
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From page 37... ...
Physicists and chemists are now using femtosecond lasers to unravel the complex (lance that atoms perform during chemical reactions.The bon(ls that bind atoms within molecules are ma(le and broken on the femtosecond time scale. For example, the protein bacteriorhodopsin absorbs light to provide energy for a cell.
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From page 38... ...
The craters formed by laser beams have edges smooth enough to be used in eye surgery or for the (frilling of microscopic holes or the cutting of materials in industry. Laserlike beams of x rays can be generated and used to "see" atoms and molecules as they move about in chemical reactions.
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From page 39... ...
In view of such numbers, the idea of carrying out an experiment on a single atom seems most improbable. Nevertheless,AMO experimentalists can isolate and manipulate not only single atoms, but also single electrons, single ions, single molecules, and even single photons (see Figure 17~.
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From page 40... ...
Aiclecl by computational stuclies, they have confirmed the composition and structure of these molecuTes. Further work on atomic and molecular processes contributing to molecular formation will allow scientists to understand the fascinating physics that controls the dynamics and evolution of these interstellar and circumsteHar regions.
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From page 41... ...
amazing quantum phenomena were discovered superconductivity, in which an electrical current flows with zero resistance, and superfluiclity, in which liqui(1 helium flows with zero friction. In a series of developments starting in the micI-1980s, novel techniques basest on laser cooling ant!
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From page 42... ...
to apparently paradoxical and counterintuitive effects, such as the "spooky action at a distance" that so disturbed Einstein. The distinction in the behavior of pairs of classical and quantum particles was quantified in a mathematical form called Bell's inequalities, which are satisfied classically but violated in the quantum world.
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