Very interesting article (some specific text below). It seems to be indicating: 1) atoms as a whole vibrate, but that is only because they are out of balance internally 2) whatever an 'atom' is, INTERNALLY it has very regular/periodic oscillations going on 3) when a quantum or quanta of heat (or other energy) is absorbed(?) by the internal oscillations, it causes a slight change in the frequency of one (or more) of the internal oscillations which throws off the harmonics and this causes the entire atom to shake because those oscillations have momentum, and the harmonic relationship between the individial momentums (oscillations) is out of balance. The desired state is perfect resonance, so the atom will try to shed that absorbed quantum to a neighboring atom. When it does, it stops vibrating (its now harmonically balanced) and the atom that received the quantum now vibrates. One can see that heat is then the constant transfer of quanta between atoms as they are all trying to remain perfectly balanced -- of course, this is nearly impossible for any significant amount of time at room temp. I've emphasized a few points in the text below with *****asterisks***** This thought just came to mind... What if electric charge is simply caused by the fact that there are two different fundamental frequencies, each with two sets of higher order harmonics? Electrons are oscillations which are at a significantly lower frequency than nucleons, and because of that, and the speed of light being a constant, have a much wider physical span to their oscillation, thus, the 'electron shells' being much larger diameter than the nucleus. -Mark ======================= http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-02-quantum-hot-potato-entice-atoms.html Described in a paper published Feb. 23 by Nature, the NIST experiments enticed two beryllium ions (electrically charged atoms) to **take turns** vibrating in an electromagnetic trap, exchanging units of energy, or quanta, that are a hallmark of quantum mechanics. As little as **one quantum** was **traded back and forth** in these exchanges, signifying that the ions are "coupled" or linked together. These ions also behave like objects in the larger, everyday world in that they are "harmonic oscillators" similar to pendulums and tuning forks, making repetitive, back-and-forth motions. "First one ion is jiggling a little and ******the other is not moving at all*****; then the jiggling motion switches to the other ion. The smallest amount of energy you could possibly see is moving between the ions," explains first author Kenton Brown, a NIST post-doctoral researcher. "We can also tune the coupling, which affects how fast they exchange energy and to what degree. We can turn the interaction on and off." Each ion has its own characteristic vibration frequency; when excited, the motion reduces the amount of laser light absorbed. Dimming of the scattered light tells scientists an ion is vibrating at a particular pulse frequency. To turn on the coupling interaction, scientists use electrode voltages to tune the frequencies of the two ions, nudging them closer together. **********The coupling is strongest when the frequencies are closest**********. =======================
