EIT seen in single atoms, real and artificial
in [Physics]
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From: Sam Wormley on 23 Apr 2010 00:28 Single atoms go transparent EIT seen in single atoms, real and artificial http://physicsworld.com/cws/m/1711/17632/article/news/42385 "Making an opaque material transparent might seem like magic. But for well over a decade, physicists have been able to do just that in atomic gases using the phenomenon of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). Now, however, this seemingly magical effect has been observed in single atoms � and in "artificial" atoms consisting of a superconducting loop � for the first time. "EIT occurs in certain media that do not usually transmit light at a certain wavelength, but can be made transparent by applying a second beam of light at a slightly different wavelength. EIT has famously been used to slow down pulses of light so they are effectively "stored" in a medium � the current record being a pulse stored in an ultracold cloud of atoms for over one second. This ability to store light in this way could find application in optical communication systems or even light-based quantum computers". |