| ▲ | griffzhowl 3 hours ago | |
If you're into atomic physics and getting a feel for the intricate structure of the basic processes, the best find I had recently is this MIT course by Wolfgang Ketterle. The first lecture is an informal overview, and he gives vivid and detailed descriptions of the phenomena they can create and control now, like why we see different kinds of thing happening at very low temperatures: the atoms are moving past each other so slowly that it gives their wavefunctions time to overlap and interact, using intersecting lasers to create arrays of dimples in the electromagnetic field to draw in and hold single atoms, this kind of thing. It gives a more tangible insight into the quantum aspects of matter that can otherwise seem inscrutable https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Agu68RGaoWM&list=PLUl4u3cNGP... He also got the Nobel prize in the 90s for making a Bose-Einstein condensate iirc. | ||