This cooling method captures an atom in a well - defined velocity state in much the same way atoms were trapped in space in our first optical trap. (scientificamerican.com)
Then, in 1985, a scheme for a workable optical trap became apparent after atoms were laser cooled in all dimensions and to much lower temperatures than the stopped atomic beams. (scientificamerican.com)
Instead of loading the atoms into a stack of pancake - shaped optical traps as in their previous work, scientists packed the atoms into thousands of horizontal optical tubes. (nist.gov)