News Physics

Trapping atoms in a laser beam offers a new way to measure gravity

The technique can measure slight gravitational variations, which could help in mapping terrain

interferometer

A new type of experiment to measure the strength of gravity uses atoms suspended in laser light (with the machinery pictured above), rather than free-falling atoms.

V. Xu

By Maria Temming

- More than 2 years ago

By watching how atoms behave when they’re suspended in midair, rather than in free fall, physicists have come up with a new way to measure Earth’s gravity.