Kilometre-long pulses of light have been stored for over one second in a 0.1 mm cloud of ultracold atoms – before being revived and sent on their way. This latest demonstration of light storage using electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) is the first to break the second barrier – using ultracold atoms and has the added bonus of preserving the quantum state of the incoming pulse. The physicists in the US who carried out the experiment say that the work could play a key role in quantum information technology.
