Atom laser has physicists ready to break out champagne

From Correspondent Mary Ann McGann

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (CNN) -- The scientific world is abuzz over the development of an atomic laser, a goal of physicists since the days of Albert Einstein.

The devise makes atoms -- one of the basic building blocks of matter -- behave differently than ever before.

"Previously, we had atom sources with atoms moving in a sort of a chaotic fashion. But now we have laser-like atomic beams," says atomic physicist Wolfgang Ketterle.

Ketterle and a team of graduate and post-graduate students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology wanted to prove that individual atoms could behave as one giant matter wave.

They did just that, with the help of the atomic laser.

"The central part is a vacuum chamber that acts kind of like a thermos, an insulating thermos for these ultra cold atoms," said MIT graduate Michael Andrews.

That's the key to the atom laser, because the atoms must first be chilled to slightly above absolute zero.

The atoms are held in a magnetic trap. When it is turned off, the atoms start a kind of free fall.

"This laser beam is not made of light. It's made of matter. So basically, when you have a burst of these laser-like atoms, they just fall due to gravity. So it's really like a dripping faucet," said Andrews.

That dripping, or pulsing motion, showed the scientists that atoms could indeed form a wavelength.

"If we had a bottle of champagne, we would have popped it," said Andrews.

"We are controlling the motion of atoms and the position of atoms with unprecedented accuracy," Ketterle added.

But he cautions that it's far too early for practical uses for the atom laser.

In the future, he says, it might make the atomic clock even more precise. That's important because the atomic clock is used in space and sea navigation, traffic lights, and other applications.

Years down the road, Ketterle says, it could help build better computer chips, atom by atom.

In the meantime, the scientists say they're just happy to have created it.