The electrons are so far from the nucleus in Rydberg atoms that they are barely held in orbit, the orbits are nearly circular, and the atom approaches macroscopic size.īecause of the highly excited outer electrons, Rydberg atoms have interesting and useful properties. Atomic radio relies on Rydberg atoms, which are atoms of elements such as cesium and rubidium that have had their outer electrons coaxed into much, much higher quantum states than normal matter, using either laser light at exactly the right wavelength or other electromagnetic methods. After all, aren’t all radios made from atoms? But in the context of differentiating traditional radio technologies from the newer approach, use of the term atomic makes sense. The term atomic radio seems a bit confusing at first. And surprisingly, it relies on just a small cloud of gas and a couple of lasers to work. Atomic radio, which does not rely on the trappings of traditional radio receivers, is poised to open a new window on the RF spectrum, one that is less subject to interference, takes up less space, and has much broader bandwidth than current receiver technologies.
That basic equation may be set to change soon, though, as direct receivers made from an exotic phase of matter are developed and commercialized. Then as now, receiving radio waves relies on antennas of just the right shape and size to use the energy in the radio waves to induce a current that can be amplified, filtered, and demodulated, and changed into an audio waveform.
The basic technology of radio hasn’t changed much since an Italian marquis first blasted telegraph messages across the Atlantic using a souped-up spark plug and a couple of coils of wire.
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