Laser-cooled atoms spiral to the surface of a carbon nanotube charged to hundreds of volts. A captured atom's valence electron (yellow) tunnels into the tube. The resultant ion (purple) is subsequently ejected and detected.
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From the article:
Field Ionization of Cold Atoms near the Wall of a Single Carbon NanotubeAnne Goodsell, Trygve Ristroph, J. A. Golovchenko, and Lene Vestergaard Hau
Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 133002 (2010)
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