CU Boulder scientists created a quantum device that uses cold atoms and lasers to track 3D acceleration.
In a new study, physicists at the University of Colorado Boulder used a cloud of atoms cooled to extremely low temperatures to measure acceleration in three dimensions at the same time, achieving what many scientists once thought was not possible.
The device, a new kind of atom “interferometer,” could eventually improve navigation for submarines, spacecraft, cars, and other vehicles.
“Traditional atom interferometers can only measure acceleration in a single dimension, but we live within a three-dimensional world,” said Kendall Mehling, a co-author of the new study and a graduate student in the Department of Physics at CU Boulder. “To know where I’m going, and to know where I’ve been, I need to track my acceleration in all three dimensions.”
The researchers published their paper in the journal Science Advances. The team included Mehling; Catie LeDesma, a postdoctoral researcher in physics; and Murray Holland, professor of physics and fellow of JILA, a joint research institute between CU Boulder and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
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