Sisyphus cooling

noun

The use of specially selected laser light, hitting atoms from various angles to both cool and trap them in a potential well, effectively rolling the atoms down a hill of potential energy until they have lost their kinetic energy.

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Meanings

nounSisyphus cooling (uncountable)
  1. uncountablenatural sciencesThe use of specially selected laser light, hitting atoms from various angles to both cool and trap them in a potential well, effectively rolling the atoms down a hill of potential energy until they have lost their kinetic energy.

Origin

Named after Sisyphus from Greek mythology, who was doomed eternally to roll a stone up a mountain, only to have it roll down again whenever he got it near the summit.

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Cite this entry
APA

Sisyphus cooling. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sisyphus%20cooling

MLA

“Sisyphus cooling.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sisyphus%20cooling. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Sisyphus cooling,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sisyphus%20cooling.

Source: Sisyphus cooling on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.