Individual atoms observed interacting for 1st time
In a first, MIT researchers have observed individual potassium atoms' interactions, with some pairing up and others keeping away from each other, exhibiting “antisocial” behaviour. For this, scientists trapped gaseous atoms in a 2D optical lattice sheet under nanokelvin temperatures, close to absolute zero (−273.15°C). The observations could help in developing room-temperature superconductors.