Nobel Prize in Physics Awarded for Work on Quantum Particles
Tuesday, October 9th, 2012October 9, 2012
The 2012 Nobel Prize in physics was awarded to American physicist David Wineland of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and the University of Colorado in Boulder and to French physicist Serge Haroche of the College de France and the Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris for their work in the field of quantum optics. Quantum optics is the study of how light as individual particles called photons interacts with matter.
The laws of physics used to describe and predict the behavior of objects that we encounter in our daily lives were first described by the English scientist Sir Isaac Newton. These laws use such terms as force, velocity, and acceleration to describe the world around us. But extremely small particles seem to follow a different set of rules. These rules are called quantum mechanics. The rules of quantum mechanics deal with single atoms or even smaller particles called subatomic particles.
Many physicists had long believed that trapping and studying quantum particles was impossible. They had thought that simply studying quantum particles in an experiment would destroy the particles. However, Wineland and Haroche, working independently, were able to devise experiments that allowed them to isolate and study quantum particles without destroying them.
Wineland was able to trap and study particles called ions (electrically charged atoms) by surrounding them with electric fields. The experiment is done at an extremely low temperature and in a vacuum (a space with little air or other matter). The scientists then fire a laser into the trap. This causes an ion to achieve a certain quantum state–being in two places at the same time. Haroche was able to trap and study photons using a set of two special mirrors. While the photon is bouncing between the mirrors, a single atom is placed into the same space. The interaction between the atom and the photon allows the particles to be studied.
The work done by Wineland has led to the development of a clock 100 times as accurate as the clock currently used as the standard. Scientists hope that both experiments have paved the way for the development of a quantum computer. This type of computer could use the ability of quantum particles to be in two places at the same time to run at speeds far beyond those of current computers. However, because quantum particles behave in such strange ways, controlling them is a major obstacle. These experiments may provide a step in overcoming this problem.