« on: March 09, 2015, 09:25:48 AM »
Using lasers to cut a diamond apart atom by atom
One of great challenges of the 21st century has been to develop ways to manipulate matter on smaller and smaller dimensions.
Nanomachines, quantum computing components and ultrafast electronics are all important areas that are benefiting from this extreme push for engineering on the ultra-nanoscale.
EXPERIMENTS SHOW that a laser beam can target specific atoms on the surface, in a way not yet entirely understood, causing their chemical bonds to break before there is any significant dissipation of energy into the surrounding area.
The laser hits the diamond surface and releases the atoms. The significance of the result is that it is possible for lasers to interact with pairs of atoms and cause their separation without disturbing the surroundings. In the case of diamond, light polarisation IS USED to select what atom pairs are targeted by the laser beam.
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Be gentle and you can be bold but also let people feel, the steadiness of your resentment;
be frugal and you can be liberal;
avoid putting yourself before others and you can become a leader among men.
Shahina Haque
Assistant Professor
Department of ETE
FSIT, DIU
