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atom trap

noun Physics.
  1. a device in which atoms or particles are slowed by the use of lasers and then confined to a small region of space.
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Also called laser trap.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
laser trap in Science

laser trap

  1. A device that uses magnetic coils and lasers with tunable frequencies to suspend atoms or particles in a small region of space and to slow them down, reducing their temperature. Laser traps have been used to form Bose-Einstein condensates.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.