Radiant chills: the revolutionary science of laser cooling

19 Dec 2023 James Dacey

Over the past half-century, laser cooling has revolutionized atomic, molecular, and optical physics. Laser cooling of atoms and ions has enabled dramatic leaps in the precision of atomic clocks, allowing new tests of fundamental physics and potential improvements in clock-based navigation via the Global Positioning System. It also lays the foundations for quantum computing with atoms and ions.

In this episode of Physics World Stories, you can enjoy a vibrant tour through the history of laser cooling with Chad Orzel, a famous science author and researcher at Union College in the US, who is conversing with Andrew Glester. Orzel describes the critical research breakthroughs that have led to several Nobel prizes and the personal stories behind the discoveries involving physics titans such as Hal Metcalf, Bill Phillips, and Steven Chu.

You can learn more about this topic via a trilogy of features that Chad Orzel has written for Physics World. The final installment will be available in January, and you can already read the first two articles: “Cold: How Physicists Learned to Manipulate and Move Particles with laser cooling. “

“Colder: how physicists beat the theoretical limit for laser cooling and laid the foundations for a quantum revolution. “

James Dacey is a multimedia journalist based in Madrid.

FROM PHYSICSWORLD.COM      8/1/2024