The experimental creation of atom gases at very low temperatures was acknowledged to be one of the major advances in physics with two Nobel Prizes.
In 1997, the Nobel Prize in Physics was granted to S. Chu, C. Cohen-Tannoudji and W. D. Phillips for the development of new methods enabling to cool and trap atoms with light.
Winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997. From left to right: S. Chu, C. Cohen-Tannoudji and W. D. Phillips.
In 2001, the Nobel Prize in physics was granted to E. A. Cornell, W. Ketterle and C. E. Wieman for obtaining Bose-Einstein condensate in alkaline gasses and for the first fundamental studies of the properties of condensates.
Winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2001. From left to right: E. A. Cornell, W. Ketterle et C. E. Wieman.
