atom trap

noun Physics.

a device in which atoms or particles are slowed by the use of lasers and then confined to a small region of space.

Also called laser trap.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

laser trap in Science

laser trap

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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