Chu's Final Breakthrough Before Taking Office

KentuckyFC writes "While preparing for the job of US Secretary of Energy in the incoming Obama administration (and being director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a Nobel Prize winner to boot), Steven Chu has somehow found time to make a major breakthrough in the world of atom interferometry. One measure of an interferometer's sensitivity is the area that its arms enclose. Chu and colleagues have found a way to increase this area by a factor of 2,500 by canceling out the noise introduced by lasers, which work as beam splitters sending atoms down different arms (abstract). One thing this makes possible is the use of different types of atoms in the same interferometer, allowing a new generation of tests of the equivalence principle. (This is the assumption that the m in F=ma and the m's in F= Gm1.m2/r^2 are the same thing). Let's hope he's got equally impressive breakthroughs planned for his encore as US Secretary of Energy."

Comments

I know, right?

[Shaitan Apistos]

(This is the assumption that the m in F=ma and the m's in F= Gm1.m2/r^2 are the same thing).

That's what she said.

Re:I know, right?

[im_thatoneguy]

(This is the assumption that the m in F=ma and the m's in F= Gm1.m2/r^2 are the same thing)

Bah! Just another example of More-of-the-Same! Where's the change we were promised from the Obama Administration!

Just another example of an Obama appointee trying to maintain a status quo!

Obviously...

[overzero]

Obviously this is just an attempt by the democrats to distract from the nation's problems as Obama takes office. They should be ashamed of themselves for exploiting the public's interest in atom interferometry this way.

So Let me get this straight

[voss]

Our incoming president reads spiderman comics and his secretary of energy is some incredible nobel prize winning genius who ran a program called "Bio-X", can we possibly get more nerdy?

Re:Interferowhatsjiggy?

[Anonymous Coward]

And seriously, who here in /. does _not_ know what it is.

People with mod points.

Re:Not "final"

[Rei]

I'd just love to hear him use the phrase, "Look at me, still talking while there's science to do."

Re:Dammit Steve Chu

[bsDaemon]

No, he'll bring Linux to the desktop, cure cancer, and get Adobe to release 64-bit Photoshop for the Mac... in that order.

Re:Interferowhatsjiggy?

[HiVizDiver]

And seriously, who here in /. does _not_ know what it is.

*raises hand*

Some of us don't have time to learn EVERYTHING, since we do go outside every once in a while. That's that bright place between your folks' basement and the D&D store, btw.

Re:Nice Change

[TheLink]

Scientist with a disturbing laugh?

Does he have a habit of laughing while doing an experiment in the lab in the middle of the night during a thunderstorm?