The best way to find buried treasure may be with a quantum gravity sensor. In these devices, free-falling atoms reveal subtle variations in Earth’s gravitational pull at different places. Those ...

These abilities enable their special feats of computing. Imagine that a classical computer solves a maze by trying one path ...

Quantum computers get a lot of attention, even though they are not ready for prime time, but quantum sensors are already ...

It’s been 37 years since scientists first demonstrated the ability to move single atoms, suggesting the possibility of designing materials atom by atom to customize their properties. Today ...

Until now, atoms have never been imaged interacting freely in space, but a new technique known as non-resolved microscopy has changed that. MIT physicists were able to successfully capture images of ...

Traditionally, scientists have measured gravity’s influence on atoms by tracking how fast atoms tumble down tall chutes. Such experiments can help test Einstein’s theory of gravity and precisely ...

Physicists directly observed ultracold atoms in an 'edge state,' flowing along a boundary without resistance. The research could help physicists manipulate electrons to flow without friction in ...

From nearly indestructible metals, like tungsten, to delicate clouds in the sky, atoms make up everything around us. But do these atoms ever touch each other? As with most topics in atomic physics, ...

Physicists have used atoms to reveal bizarre evidence that photons can experience negative time inside atomic clouds.