Progress In Precision Engineering And Nanotechnology

Progress in Precision Engineering and Nanotechnology

Progress of Precision Engineering and Nano Technology

Selected Papers from Proceeding of the First International Conference on Precision Engineering and Micro/Nano Technology in Asia, November 12-14, 2005, Shenzhen, China

Recent Advances in Metrology and Fundamental Constants

Over the last decade of the 20th century, many improvements took place in the field of metrology and fundamental constants. These developments and improvements are discussed in this book. The old caesium SI second definition has found a new realization with the fountain approach, replacing the classical thermal atomic beam. The use of cold atom techniques, slowed down and cooled, has opened a number of unexpected avenues for metrology and fundamental constants, one of these possibilities being the atom interferometry. Another development was the demonstration of the possiblility of performing a direct frequency division in the visible, using short femtosecond pulses. Many other developments are also discussed.