Feature

The Atom Laser

EdwardW. Hagley, Lu Deng,William D. Phillips, Keith Burnett,and Charles W. Clark

Like the optical laser, the atom laser is based on a quantum principle discovered by Einstein. Both of these devices found their practical realization many years after their underlying concept was articulated in theory, with the optical laser enjoying a lead of about forty years over its atomic sister. As far as mastery of techniques is concerned, the level of advancement of atom laser research today may be viewed as roughly comparable to the state of optical laser research in the early 1960s.

Publish Date: 01 May 2001