The atomic beam laboratory consists of an extended vacuum system with a 15KeV ion source at one end. Highly-excited electronic states, called Rydberg states, of atoms and molecules are produced by focussing the ion beam into a gas cell and creating a neutral beam of excited atoms or molecules.
Molecular hydrogen is the species most often studied.
The excited hydrogen molecules are then introduced to a high-powered CO 2 laser which selectively causes further excitation that can be monitored electronically. The selection occurs through the use of the Doppler effect by varying the angle of intersection of the laser beam and the excited hydrogen beam. The apparatus was assembled and is often controlled by undergraduate students. The experience that YSU college students can get by working with the apparatus pictured is often only available to students working on master's or doctoral degrees. Participation in projects like the atomic beam lab are very useful learning experiences for the students as they learn physics.