> So in 2018, an international team of scientists created a BEC out of strontium atoms, and hit one of those atoms with a carefully tuned laser, exciting its outermost electron and turning it into a Rydberg atom. Several other atoms from the BEC were caught within between that outer electron’s inflated orbital.<p>This is not so much putting 170 atoms in one, but inflating one beyond the size of its 170-atom neighbourhood.<p>The hard part being to cool the neighbourhood to such an extremely low temperature that the inflated atom doesn't ionize.
The article, rather shallow, is about Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC).<p>I found it a bit more interesting that the author's middle name is Galileo, and that he is participating in a "blogging" residency [0]:<p>Inkhaven residency: A 30 day residency for you to grow as a writer.
For one month, you'll publish a blogpost every day. Or pack your bags.<p>[0]: <a href="https://www.inkhaven.blog/" rel="nofollow">https://www.inkhaven.blog/</a>
Hey! That's me, yep. It's a combination of a BEC and a Rydberg atom called "Rydberg polaron". This isn't the scientifically deepest article I've written, but if you want to read a more detailed description, feel free to check out the sources at the bottom.<p>Since the end of the 30 day residency in November, I and a few other participants have been posting weekly, so I've got a decent back catalogue and there will be more to come!
As someone who did blue sky chemistry research decades ago: is this completely pointless?