[time-nuts] How does it work?

[Chris Albertson]

I think the part you miss is that the laser does not have a
conterminous pressure as in say a piston in a diesel engine.   The
function of the laser is to oppose the motion of the atoms, to prevent
them from moving, some tuning is involved to make this happen.  So it
acts more like a sheep herder than a piston.  The goal is to make the
atoms motionless.   Why?  Remember that heat is equivalent to the
kinetic energy of the particles.



On Tue, Jun 28, 2011 at 9:55 AM, William H. Fite <omniryx at gmail.com> wrote:
> For the sake of this poor, befuddled non-engineer, would one of you worthy
> gentlemen explain how it is that lasers striking a mass of cesium atoms and
> compressing them into a ball (in a cesium fountain) has the effect of
> cooling them to near absolute zero?  That seems counter-intuitive to me, but
> then I have virtually no education in this area.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Bill
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-- 

Chris Albertson
Redondo Beach, California