Highly accurate measurements are possible utilizing atom interferometers that use the atom's wave character. As such, atom interferometers can be used to measure the Earth's gravitational field or spot gravitational waves.
For the first time, scientists were able to perform atom interferometry onboard a sounding rocket.
"We have established the technological basis for atom interferometry on board of a sounding rocket and demonstrated that such experiments are not only possible on Earth, but also in space," said study author Professor Patrick Windpassinger of the Institute of Physics at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU).
Windpassinger leads a group of German researchers in the study, "Ultracold atom interferometry in space," with findings published in Nature Communications.
To read more, click here.