Lithium atom the deviation from hydrogenic energy levels. Lithium atom A lithium atom is an atom of the chemical element lithium. Lithium is composed of three electrons bound by the electromagnetic force to a nucleus containing three protons along with either three or four neutrons, depending on the isotope, held together by the strong force. Similarly to the case of the helium atom, a closed-form solution to the Schrödinger equation for the lithium atom has not been found. However, various approximations, such as the Hartree–Fock method, can be used to estimate the ground state energy and wavefunction of the atom. The quantum
Atom laser an optical and an atom laser are that atoms interact with themselves, cannot be created as photons can, and possess mass whereas photons do not (atoms therefore propagate at a speed below that of light). The van der Waals interaction of atoms with surfaces makes it difficult to make the atomic mirrors, typical for conventional lasers. A pseudo-continuously operating atom laser was demonstrated for the first time by Theodor Hänsch, Immanuel Bloch and Tilman Esslinger at the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Munich. They produce a well controlled continuous beam spanning up to 100 ms, whereas their predecessor