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Sam Wormley wrote:
Sympathy for Cold Molecules
http://focus.aps.org/story/v18/st20
29 December 2006
Researchers cooled large dye molecules to one-tenth of a degree
Kelvin--the coldest temperature ever for large molecules. The
technique could work with protein molecules and allow a new level of
precision spectroscopy.
PHYSICAL REVIEW FOCUS 3 January 2007 http://focus.aps.org/
David Ehrenstein, American Physical Society
Introductions to the Focus stories of the past week;
visit http://focus.aps.org for the complete stories.
SYMPATHY FOR COLD MOLECULES
Physicists have cooled single atoms and molecules with two or three
atoms to just a few thousandths of a degree above absolute zero,
but it has proved hard to push larger molecules below about
10 degrees Kelvin. In the 15 December Physical Review Letters,
researchers report cooling large organic molecules to less than
0.1 K using a technique that should also work with proteins and
other biomolecules. Temperatures this low will allow scientists to
study molecular structures and chemical processes with
unprecedented precision and perhaps explore novel issues of
fundamental physics.
(A. Ostendorf et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 243005)
Link to the paper: http://link.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v97/e243005
COMPLETE Focus story at http://focus.aps.org/story/v18/st20
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Copyright 2007, The American Physical Society.
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