Scientists at National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have managed to induce spinswaps between atoms trapped in pairs by laserbeams. They showed how to perform the swapping of internal atom spins in pairs of atoms and since atoms can spin in just two different directions, the spin has been suggested as a way to store binary data. Atoms are not that easy though, the atoms can namely end up in-between spins. When stuck in this state where they are spinning in both directions or not at all at the same time, then the two atoms become linked and share properties. Controlling the swapping would mean we can create a logical connection between the data and that we can induce the in-between state.
“The scientists attempted to place a single atom in each well, with one atom spin up (or 1) and the other down (or 0). Then, they merged all double wells to force each pair of atoms into the same well, where they could interact with each other. When two such identical atoms are forced into the same physical location, quantum mechanics imposes a specific type of symmetry (only two of four seemingly possible combinations of quantum states are allowed). Due to this restriction, the merged atoms oscillate between the condition in which one atom is 1 and the other is 0, to the opposite condition. This behavior is unique to identical particles.”
This is the first time that scientists have been able to control atoms at this level and induce the “paused” state in-between spins. Science Daily has published a longer and deeper article on the work earlier published in Nature last month.
