Force
Forces and Motion
The smallest force detected
Stories from Physics
for 11-14
14-16
A team of researchers from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory at the University of California have measured what is thought to be the lowest force ever recorded. A cloud of atoms was trapped in an optical cavity and caused to oscillate, and its frequency was measured using a laser beam. A force of 42 yN (42 × 10 -24 N) was recorded.
References
S. Schreppler, N. Spethmann, N. Brahms, T. Botter, M. Barrios, & D. M. Stamper-Kurn, Optically measuring force near the standard quantum limit. Science, vol. 344, no. 6191, 2014, pp. 1486-1489.
