Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Types of Collisions - II

Types of Collisions - II

When two or more objects collide with each other, they can stick together to form one single composite object (after collision). The total mass of the object after the collision is the sum of the masses of the original objects, and it moves with a velocity dictated by the conservation of momentum. Although the system's total momentum remains constant, the kinetic energy decreases, and thus such a collision is an inelastic collision. Most of the collisions between objects in daily life are...

Types Of Collisions - I

Types Of Collisions - I

When two objects come in direct contact with each other, it is called a collision. During a collision, two or more objects exert forces on each other in a relatively short amount of time. A collision can be categorized as either an elastic or inelastic collision. If two or more objects approach each other, collide and then bounce off, moving away from each other with the same relative speed at which they approached each other, the total kinetic energy of the system is said to be conserved. This...

The de Broglie Wavelength

The de Broglie Wavelength

In the macroscopic world, objects that are large enough to be seen by the naked eye follow the rules of classical physics. A billiard ball moving on a table will behave like a particle; it will continue traveling in a straight line unless it collides with another ball, or it is acted on by some other force, such as friction. The ball has a well-defined position and velocity or well-defined momentum, p = mv, which is defined by mass m and velocity v at any given moment. This is the typical...

Interference and Superposition of Waves

Interference and Superposition of Waves

When two waves of the same nature occur in the same region simultaneously, they result in interference. Interference of waves implies that the net effect of the waves is the sum of the individual waves' effects. However, it does not imply that the individual waves affect the propagation of other waves.
Interference occurs in mechanical waves, such as sound waves, waves on a string, and surface water waves. Mechanical waves correspond to the physical displacement of particles. Hence,...

Predicting Reaction Outcomes

Predicting Reaction Outcomes

Kinetics describes the rate and path by which a reaction occurs. In contrast, thermodynamics deals with state functions and describes the properties, behavior, and components of a system. It is not concerned with the path taken by the process and cannot address the rate at which a reaction occurs. Although it does provide information about what can happen during a reaction process, it does not describe the detailed steps of what appears on an atomic or a molecular level. On the other hand,...

The Uncertainty Principle

The Uncertainty Principle

Werner Heisenberg considered the limits of how accurately one can measure properties of an electron or other microscopic particles. He determined that there is a fundamental limit to how accurately one can measure both a particle’s position and its momentum simultaneously. The more accurate the measurement of the momentum of a particle is known, the less accurate the position at that time is known and vice versa. This is what is now called the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. He...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Observation of self-bound droplets of ultracold dipolar molecules.

Nature·2026

Same author

A conveyor-belt magneto-optical trap of CaF.

Nature communications·2026

Same author

Observation of Bose-Einstein condensation of dipolar molecules.

Nature·2024

Same author

Atomic physics on a 50-nm scale: Realization of a bilayer system of dipolar atoms.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2024

Same author

Suppressing dipolar relaxation in thin layers of dysprosium atoms.

Nature communications·2024

Same author

Dipolar spin-exchange and entanglement between molecules in an optical tweezer array.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2023

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 1, 2025

Measurement of Quantum Interference in a Silicon Ring Resonator Photon Source

Measurement of Quantum Interference in a Silicon Ring Resonator Photon Source

Published on: April 4, 2017

Control of reactive collisions by quantum interference.

Hyungmok Son^1,2, Juliana J Park¹, Yu-Kun Lu¹

¹MIT-Harvard Center for Ultracold Atoms, Research Laboratory of Electronics, Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

Science (New York, N.Y.)

|March 3, 2022

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Scientists achieved magnetic control over chemical reactions in ultracold sodium and sodium-lithium mixtures. They precisely tuned reaction rates, demonstrating unprecedented quantum control over molecular collisions using magnetic fields.

More Related Videos

Generation and Coherent Control of Pulsed Quantum Frequency Combs

Generation and Coherent Control of Pulsed Quantum Frequency Combs

Published on: June 8, 2018

Scalable Quantum Integrated Circuits on Superconducting Two-Dimensional Electron Gas Platform

Scalable Quantum Integrated Circuits on Superconducting Two-Dimensional Electron Gas Platform

Published on: August 2, 2019

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Oct 1, 2025

Measurement of Quantum Interference in a Silicon Ring Resonator Photon Source

Measurement of Quantum Interference in a Silicon Ring Resonator Photon Source

Published on: April 4, 2017

Generation and Coherent Control of Pulsed Quantum Frequency Combs

Generation and Coherent Control of Pulsed Quantum Frequency Combs

Published on: June 8, 2018

Scalable Quantum Integrated Circuits on Superconducting Two-Dimensional Electron Gas Platform

Scalable Quantum Integrated Circuits on Superconducting Two-Dimensional Electron Gas Platform

Published on: August 2, 2019

Area of Science:

Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
Quantum Chemistry
Ultracold Quantum Gases

Background:

Molecular collisions typically result in reactions or loss with near-unity probability, known as the universal rate.
The sodium (Na) + sodium-lithium (NaLi) system exhibits a low loss probability (~4%) in a fully spin-polarized state, deviating from universal behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate and demonstrate magnetic control over reactive scattering in ultracold Na + NaLi mixtures.
To explore the modification of molecular collision loss rates beyond the universal limit.

Main Methods:

Utilizing Feshbach resonances to precisely control the phase of the scattering wave function.
Employing magnetic fields to tune the interactions in ultracold atomic and molecular gases.

Main Results:

Achieved magnetic control over reactive scattering in ultracold Na + NaLi.
Modified the loss rate by over two orders of magnitude (factor of 100), spanning from below to above the universal limit.
Observed interference effects analogous to an optical Fabry-Perot resonator.

Conclusions:

Demonstrated quantum control of chemical reaction rates using magnetic fields.
Validated theoretical predictions for the full dynamic range of magnetic control in molecular collisions.
Opened new avenues for controlling chemical processes at the quantum level.