Laser Refrigeration is Fastest, Coolest Chilling Tech Yet
Physics nerds and sci-fi geeks just about everywhere agree: lasers are cool. But cool enough to drop the temperature of a gas by 119 degrees in a matter of seconds? German researchers say so, having made advances on ideas reaching back 30 years but never successfully executed. Bombarding high-pressure gas with a laser, the scientists were able to create a significant cooling effect, shaving the aforementioned 119 degrees from the gas almost instantly by pushing electrons into higher orbit. Manipulating the paths of electrons is no small task, but the researchers were able to drastically simplify the process by using high pressure gas. The pressure makes the electrons act erratically as atoms collide with one another, slightly bending their paths. Once off their normal paths, electrons can be pushed into higher orbit with far less energy than would be needed at low pressure. As collisions subside,...