Article
Article
Atom laser
Article By:
Ketterle, Wolfgang Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Nobelist.
Last reviewed:October 2019
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.757479
An atom laser is a device that generates an intense coherent beam of atoms through a stimulated process. It does for atoms what an optical laser does for light. The atom laser emits coherent matter waves, whereas the optical laser emits coherent electromagnetic waves. Coherence means, for instance, that atom laser beams can interfere with each other. See also: Coherence
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