Re:Picture of a Single Atom Wins Science Photo Contest
by ars on Monday February 12, 2018 @09:05PM
(#16364194)
> That has to be at least partially it
No, not at all. The wavelength of the light is about 1,500 times larger than the atom emitting it. So the atom would need to move at least 1,500 diameters to make any difference in the light.
It doesn't move that much.
Re:Picture of a Single Atom Wins Science Photo Contest
by dingo_bat on Tuesday February 13, 2018 @03:27AM
(#16365583)
> It doesn't move that much.
Source?
That has to be at least partially it for the rest of your comment to be right (which it is!). To say the atom was "held nearly motionless" is to say it moved a little during the exposure. It sent the light toward the sensor from all of its positions.