Excitation of electronic or magnetic states with lasers:
Optical pumping is widely used to prepare atoms, ions or molecules in a selected quantum mechanical state. Read more.
This can be either a specific electronic state (like in a gas or solid state laser itself) or a magnetic state. The latter is a prerequisite for laser magnetic field measurement and for monitoring the lung with NMR/MRT techniques involving the inhalation of spin polarized He gas.
What is EIT?
Electromagnetic induced transparency (EIT) refers to a phenomenon where the absorption of light (usually a laser beam) can be varied or even controlled by shining in another laser beam. EIT with phase coherent lasers has interesting consequences. Light can be slowed down to a speed of a walking human being or – using a special sequence of light pulses – even completely stopped and reemitted on demand.
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Image credit: Picture of the lung obtained by NMR of inhaled optically pumped He3 (Courtesy of E. Otten and W. Heil, University of Mainz).