In Two New Breakthroughs, Scientists Slow Down Atoms' Actions
Two atomic-scale studies announced in the past week could have major implications for the future of computing and information storage. Last Friday, IBM researchers in Zurich announced they had measured how long a single atom can store information. And Monday, Kiwi researchers announced they had trapped a single atom inside a tractor beam and taken its picture. Taken together, both studies represent a major leap in the development of femtotechnology. Scientists led by Mikkel F. Andersen at the University of Otago in New Zealand used lasers to slow down the frenetic movement of a group of rubidium-85 atoms, and then capture them inside optical tweezers. The method could catch and isolate atoms 83 percent of the time. Using the optical tweezers - really two lasers acting as a kind of tractor beam - Andersen's team was able to hold a single rubidium atom in front of a camera designed for use...