Physics World
Magnetic chips and quantum circuits for atoms
Edward A. Hinds
Abstract
Over the last few years, physicists have developed various techniques for cooling clouds of atoms to temperatures below 1 microkelvin. The atoms in these clouds are so cold that they can no longer be considered as classical particles that obey Newton's laws of motion. Rather, they are diffuse waves that spread out, diffract and interfere with each other as described by the rules of quantum mechanics.