Rydberg atoms

Novel laser types developed over the last decade have allowed experimenters to excite atomic electrons in a controlled manner with high efficiency, so that a large fraction of the atoms in a low pressure gas cell can be converted into Rydberg atoms of the same size. Attention is presently given to the possibility of making a Rydberg atom large enough to be seen by means of laser excitation that expands electron orbits by a factor of more than 100. The isolation of Rydberg atoms, their behavior in static electric and magnetic fields, their perturbations in oscillating electric fields, atomic collisions involving Rydberg atoms, and these atoms' possible applications, are discussed.