Winfried Hensinger and Dr Seb Weidt in front of the experiment freezing individual atoms using microwaves.
Credit: University of Sussex
Physicists at the University of Sussex
have found a way of using everyday technology found in kitchen
microwaves and mobile telephones to bring quantum physics closer to
helping solve enormous scientific problems that the most powerful of
today's supercomputers cannot even begin to embark upon.
A team led by Professor Winfried Hensinger has frozen single charged
atoms to within a millionth of a degree of absolute zero (minus
273.15°C) with the help of microwave radiation. This technique will
simplify the construction of 'quantum technology devices' including
powerful quantum sensors, ultra-fast quantum computers, and ultra-stable
quantum clocks. Quantum technologies make use of highly strange and
counterintuitive phenomena predicted by the theory of quantum physics.
"The use of long-wavelength radiation instead of laser technology to
cool ions can tremendously simplify the construction of practical
quantum technology devices enabling us to build real devices much
faster," said Professor Hensinger.
Once quantum technology is harnessed into practical devices it has
the potential to completely change everyday life again -- just as
computers have already done. Quantum technologies may one day
revolutionise our understanding of science answering open questions of
biology and solving the origin of the universe and other puzzles as well
as allowing for a revolution in sensing, time keeping and
communications.
"By taking advantage of simple well developed technology we have be
able to create a remarkably robust and simple method, which is expected
to provide a stepping stone for this technology to be integrated into a
breadth of different quantum technologies spanning from quantum
computers to highly sensitive quantum sensors," said Professor
Hensinger.
Freezing atoms puts them into the lowest possible energy and is a
step towards harnessing the strange effects of quantum physics, which
allow objects to exist in different states at the same time. "Besides
finding an easy way to create atoms with zero-point energy, we have also
managed to put the atom into a highly counter intuitive state: where it
is both moving and not moving at the same time," said Professor
Hensinger.
Professor Hensinger's team, consisting of postdoctoral fellows Dr Seb
Weidt, Dr Simon Webster, Dr Bjoern Lekitsch along with PhD students Joe
Randall, Eamon Standing, Anna Rodriguez and Anna Webb, developed this
new method as part of their effort to build a microwave ion trap quantum
computer at the University of Sussex.
Story Source:
The above post is reprinted from
materials provided by
University of Sussex.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
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