laser trap

Scientific  

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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Example Sentences

To look for nonlinearities in King plots in the two new studies, both teams used a similar approach: The researchers placed a single atom in a laser trap to hold it in place.

From Scientific American

The cooling was achieved by using lasers to slow the particles until they were confined in a laser trap, less than 100 microns across.

From The Guardian

When the atoms were released from the laser trap, they expanded, with some displaying negative mass.

From BBC