There are still other uncertainties that need to be worked out, mostly due to the atom's slight motion in its electric field trap, before the researchers will be satisfied.

To detect such a tiny force, the NIST team confined about 60 ultra-cold beryllium ions in a device called a Penning trap, which USES magnetic and electric fields to imprison charged particles.

This electric impulse causes the leafs cells to expand like balloons and this sudden expansion forces the trap to close.