Contact: Ben Stein
bstein@nist.gov
301-975-3097
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

High-Flying Electrons May Provide New Test of Quantum Theory

Caption: (a) In a Rydberg atom, an electron (black dot) is far away from the atomic nucleus (red and grey core). (b) Probability map for an electron in a Rydberg atom shows that it has virtually no probability of being near the nucleus in the center. (c) An optical frequency comb for producing ultraprecise colors of light can trigger quantum energy jumps useful for accurately measuring the Rydberg constant.

Credit: NIST

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