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Splitting the unsplittable: physicists split an atom using quantummechanics precision by 123wert sdfsf
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Splitting the unsplittable: physicists split an atom using quantummechanics precision by 123WERT SDFSF
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| Article Posted: 03/03/2013 |
| Article Views: 53 |
| Articles Written: 2217 - MORE ARTICLES FROM THIS AUTHOR |
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Splitting the unsplittable: physicists split an atom using quantummechanics precision |
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The results have just been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Dividing atoms? What sounds like nuclear fission and radioactivityis, however, a precision process using quantum mechanics. The lawsof quantum mechanics allow objects to exist in several statessimultaneously. This is what the so-called double-slit experimentis based on, where a particle can go through two slits at the sametime. The Bonn scientists working with Prof.
Dr. Dieter Meschedefrom the Institute for Applied Physics of the University of Bonnsucceeded in keeping a single atom simultaneously in two placesthat were more than ten micrometers, or one hundredth of amillimeter, apart. This is an enormous distance for an atom.Afterwards, the atom was put back together undamaged. The atom has a split personality The fragile quantum effects can only occur at the lowesttemperatures and with careful handling.
One method is cooling acesium atom enormously using lasers -- to a temperature of a tenthof a million above absolute zero -- and then holding it withanother laser. This laser beam is key to splitting the atom. Itworks because atoms have a spin that can go in two directions.Depending on the direction, the atom can be moved to the right orthe left by the laser like on a conveyor. Key is that the atom'sspin can be in both directions simultaneously.
So, if the atom ismoved to the right and left at the same time, it will split."The atom has kind of a split personality, half of it is tothe right, and half to the left, and yet, it is still whole,"explained Andreas Steffen, the publication's lead author. The parts compare their "experiences" But you cannot see the split directly; if you shine a light on theatom to take a picture, the split will collapse immediately. Theatom can then be seen in several images; sometimes on the left,sometimes on the right -- but never in both places. And yet, thesplit can be proved successfully by putting the atom back together.Thus an interferometer can be built from individual atoms that can,e.g., be used to measure external impacts precisely.
Here, theatoms are split, moved apart and joined again. What will becomevisible, e.g., are differences between the magnetic fields of thetwo positions or accelerations since they become imprinted in thequantum mechanical state of the atom. This principle has alreadybeen used to very precisely survey forces such as Earth'sacceleration. Quantum systems as tools? The Bonn scientists, however, are looking for something else:simulating complex quantum systems.
Many physicists have beenhoping for a long time to be able to simulate so-called topologicalisolators or plant photosynthesis -- phenomena that are hard tocapture with modern super computers -- using small quantum systems.The first steps on the way to such simulators could consist ofmodeling the movement of electrons in solid bodies, thus gaininginsights for innovative electronic devices. Examples for this areDirac motion of electrons in a single graph-layer or the emergenceof artificial molecules from interacting particles. But for thispurpose, individual atoms would not only have to be wellcontrolled, but also linked according to quantum mechanical lawssince where the crux of the matter lies is exactly in a structuremade up from many quantum objects. A cog in a gearbox "For us, an atom is a well-controlled and oiled cog,"said Dr. Andrea Alberti, the team lead for the Bonn experiment."You can build a calculator with remarkable performance usingthese cogs, but in order for it to work, they have to engage."This is where the actual significance of splitting atoms lies:Because the two halves are put back together again, they can makecontact with adjacent atoms to their left and right and then shareit.
This allows a small network of atoms to form that can be used-- like in the memory of a computer -- to simulate and control realsystems, which would make their secrets more accessible. Thescientists believe that the entire potential of controllingindividual atoms this precisely will become apparent over time. I am Toys writer, reports some information about jumbo jigsaw puzzles , personalized jigsaw puzzles.
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