Study opens vistas in nanotechnology

STOCKHOLM (SWEDEN), OCT. 9. Two Americans and a German scientist shared the 2001 Nobel prize in physics on Tuesday for their joint achievement of an advanced state of matter that has important implications for precision measurement and nanotechnology.

Mr. Eric A. Cornell (39), of JILA and the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colorado, Mr. Carl E. Wieman (50), of JILA and the University of Colorado and the German-born Mr. Wolfgang Ketterle (43), of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will share the prize.

The researchers were cited for ``the achievement of Bose-Einstein condensation in dilute gases of alkali atoms and for early fundamental studies of the properties of the condensates.'' Their joint discovery of the Bose-Einstein condensate, a new state of matter, is ``going to bring revolutionary applications in such fields as precision measurement and nanotechnology,'' according to the citation by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

Nanotech promises to open up a universe of possibilities, from computers that rival the brain in processing, communications and storage, to molecular motors, cellular machines and drugs that target specific cells. Scientists expect it will eventually lead to new materials that are stronger, lighter and cheaper to make. It's expected to touch nearly every industry: power, biotech, computing, manufacturing.

``Revolutionary applications of BEC in lithography, nanotechnology and holography appear to be just round the corner,'' the citation said. The Indian physicist, S. N. Bose, as early as 1924 carried out a statistical calculation for light particles called photons and sent his work to Albert Einstein, who extended the theory to cover mass. Einstein predicted that slow-moving particles that approach each other will convert to the lowest energy state - now known as the Bose-Einstein condensation.

Mr. Cornell, Mr. Ketterle and Mr. Wieman, using alkali atom gases in which the phenomenon can be studies in a very pure manner, managed to achieve this new state of matter. Mr. Cornell and Mr. Wieman led JILA, a joint research institute for NIST and the University of Colorado, while Mr. Ketterle worked independently in Germany before he arrived at MIT in 1990.

The academy noted that more than 20 groups are conducting BEC experiments but added that the laureates ``have maintained their lead and many interesting new results have been presented.''

The chemistry prize will be awarded on Wednesday together with the economics prize. On Friday, the winner of the coveted peace prize - the only one not awarded in Sweden - will be announced in Oslo, Norway. The literature award will be announced on Thursday, the Swedish Academy said.

- AP

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