Rebuilding the atom

Recent research programs in the United States of America and the Netherlands have sought to produce ''hollow'' atoms, by removing electrons from their usual positions close to atomic nuclei and rearranging them in a series of hollow shells, further from the atomic nucleus. This new technique will, it is suggested, be the basis for a whole new area of technology providing information-packed compact discs (CDs) and the first practical X-ray lasers. (UK)