Physicists have created the first-ever atomic vortex beam — a swirling tornado of atoms and molecules with mysterious properties that have yet to be understood. By sending a straight beam of helium ...

This calculated diffraction image shows how forked diffraction gratings shape the atoms' wave function into a vortex. (Courtesy: Science/AAAS) A wave-like property previously only seen in beams of ...

A team of researchers from the University of Ottawa has made significant strides in understanding the ionization of atoms and molecules, a fundamental process in physics that has implications for ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. A major scientific breakthrough could change how we understand and control ionization — the process where atoms lose electrons and ...

Receive emails about upcoming NOVA programs and related content, as well as featured reporting about current events through a science lens. Kelvin’s idea was inspired by the work of Hermann Helmholtz, ...

Swirling, persistent vortices can be created in superfluid helium. Generally no atoms sit at the eye of these miniature hurricanes. Things might be different in condensates of ultracold atoms.

Kelvin thus proposed that atoms were vortex rings and knots in the aether, where the different types of knots formed the building blocks for the periodic table of elements. The idea that atoms were ...

Physicists have created the first-ever atomic vortex beam — a swirling tornado of atoms and molecules with mysterious properties that have yet to be understood. By sending a straight beam of helium ...