JILA's 3-D Quantum Gas Atomic Clock (IMAGE)

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

JILA's 3-D Quantum Gas Atomic Clock

Caption

JILA's three-dimensional (3-D) quantum gas atomic clock consists of a grid of light formed by three pairs of laser beams. Multiple lasers of various colors are used to cool the atoms, trap them in a grid of light, and probe them for clock operation. A blue laser beam excites a cube-shaped cloud of strontium atoms. Strontium atoms fluorescence strongly when excited with blue light, as seen in the upper right corner behind the vacuum window.

Credit

G.E. Marti/JILA

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