ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Atomic beam

An atomic beam is like a group of tiny particles called atoms marching in a straight line. You know how when you blow air out of your mouth, it makes a little bit of wind? Well, imagine if the wind was made up of really tiny particles, like the atoms that make up everything around us.

To make an atomic beam, scientists use a special machine called an atom source. This machine takes a gas, like helium or hydrogen, and heats it up a lot, so the gas turns into a super-hot vapor. Then, the vapor is pushed out of a tiny nozzle or hole, with a lot of force.

When the hot vapor comes out of the nozzle, the atoms inside it start to move really fast in a straight line. This is because the force that pushes them out is strong. It's like when you try to catch a ball and you have to move really quickly to catch it.

Once the atoms start moving in a straight line, they form the atomic beam. It's called a beam because it looks like a long and thin line of atoms, just like a laser beam.

Scientists use atomic beams in lots of different ways. They can shoot the atomic beam at a special target to study what happens when the atoms hit the target. They can also use the atomic beam to make really fancy microscopes that can see things that are smaller than what regular microscopes can see. In fact, atomic beams are used in many areas of science and technology to understand how atoms behave and to make new discoveries.