Super-sized rubidium atoms have been used as a receiver to stream live colour video and video games. This atomic system could be employed to make small and versatile communications devices that don鈥檛 rely on electronics.
When an atom absorbs energy and gets excited, its electrons start orbiting the nucleus at a greater distance, increasing the diameter of the atom. These stretched-out atoms are known as a Rydberg atoms, and their electrons are sensitive to electromagnetic fields, such as AM radio signals or microwaves.
聽 at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Colorado and his colleagues have now streamed a live television and video game signal through a receiver made of Rydberg atoms.
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鈥淲e could already use atoms to stream music in our lab. Now we wanted to take this one step further and stream video,鈥� says team member , also at NIST.
The researchers shone two laser beams through a tiny glass box filled with rubidium atoms, exciting them and turning them into Rydberg atoms. Next, a horn antenna placed near the box emitted a video signal. This changed the motion and energy of the atoms鈥� outermost electrons, which altered 聽how much of the laser beam light the atoms absorbed.
By measuring one of the laser beams after it had passed through the atoms, the researchers were able to record the transmitted video signal. Prajapati says they had to calibrate the size of the laser beams just right so that the atomic receiver would emit the right bandwidth to stream colour television.
at the University of Otago in New Zealand says traditional receivers often have to be physically modified to pick up different signals, such as audio, video or microwave. In contrast, Rydberg atom receivers can be adjusted simply by recalibrating the lasers. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to change any electronics components or use different sockets,鈥� says Deb. Prajapati says it took about a day to tweak their atomic set-up to go from streaming music to watching a live camera feed.
The atomic receiver is about the size of a dinner table, but Prajapati says it could eventually be turned into a small, versatile device made mostly of glass, commercially available atoms, and fibre-optic cables that carry the laser beam. Holloway says such devices could be useful for communications in environments where small atom receivers would be more practical than conventional antennas.
Reference: arXiv,
