> But something bugs me... In both fountains and single > ion mercury standards, lasers are used to COOL DOWN > atoms... > > How is it possible? Lasers are energy sources, and (at > least for me), anything that is hit by a laser will > get warm, not cold! > > Thanks for your attention.. > > Normand Matrel
Laser cooling is a very clever technique that uses slightly off-tuned lasers. Start with: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_cooling http://tf.nist.gov/general/enc-l.htm#lasercooling NIST Ion Storage Group http://tf.nist.gov/ion/index.htm /tvb _______________________________________________ time-nuts mailing list time-nuts@febo.com https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts