The Sound of Atoms

Scientists at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg recently made a somewhat strange, but altogether incredible discovery. They have discovered the sound that atoms make. Were you to be able to shrink down to an atomic level, and "tap" an atom as you would tap a tuning fork, the atom would emit sound at a certain pitch. Researchers, in order to find this pitch, created an artificial atom. They then bombarded the atom with sound waves in order to see what tone it would emit when exposed to sound waves. The tone that their atom emitted was a D tone, but was about 20 octaves above the highest notes a piano can hit. The interaction between atoms and light is well known. However, the study between the interaction of sound waves and atoms is totally new, and will potentially open an entirely new field of quantum physics and quantum mechanics. The significance of this discovery isn't yet fully understood, though the potential behind this discovery is massive.

Link: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-09/cuot-tso090914.php

Submitted by Alden J. Campo