Word: electromagneticism
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Professor of Physics Howard M. Georgi '68, chair of the physics department, began work in the mid-1970s on the SU(5) theory. This theory attempts to bring together and to refine two previous theories on the relationship between three of these four forces--weak force, strong force, and electromagnetic...
The principle behind all this precision comes from quantum physics. When an atom is bombarded with electromagnetic radiation -- in this case microwaves -- it shifts into a new energy state. Each type of atom responds most readily to a particular frequency. For the cesium-133 atoms in most atomic clocks, the...
LASER TRAPS. Beams of laser light can also be used to ensnare groups of atoms, which can then be moved around at will. But because atoms at room temperature zoom about at supersonic speed, they first have to be slowed down. In 1985 the invention of "optical molasses" by a...
% ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPES. Like STMs, these instruments possess an atomically small tip that resembles a phonograph needle. An AFM reads a surface by touching it, tracing the outlines of individual atoms in much the same way a blind person reads Braille. Because the electromagnetic force applied by the tip is...
Now those same technologies -- and a few new ones -- are finding their way into tools used by weekend do-it-yourselfers, a group swelled by large numbers of electronics-savvy baby boomers. Some of these tools, like the electronic tire gauge, may be too smart for their own good, and...