In which we do a little ResearchBlogging, taking a look at a slightly confusing paper putting a new twist on the double-slit experiment. ———— I’m off to California this afternoon, spending the rest of the week at DAMOP in Pasadena (not presenting this year, just hanging out to see the coolest new stuff in Atomic,… Continue reading Single Photons Are Still Photons: “Wave-particle dualism and complementarity unraveled by a different mode”
Tag: lasers
What’s So Interesting About Extreme Lasers?
The second in the DAMOP research categories I talked about is “Extreme Lasers,” a name I was somewhat hesitant to use, as every time I see “Extreme [noun],” I get a flash of Stephen Colbert doing air guitar. It is, however, the appropriate term, because these laser systems push the limits of what’s possible both… Continue reading What’s So Interesting About Extreme Lasers?
Poll: Top Physics Story of 2010?
It’s the last week of the (calendar) year, which means it’s a good time to recap the previous twelve months worth of scientific news. Typically, publications like Physics World will publish a list of top ten physics stories of 2010, but we’re all Web 2.0 these days, so it seems more appropriate to put this… Continue reading Poll: Top Physics Story of 2010?
Interference of Independent Photon Beams: The Pfleegor-Mandel Experiment
Earlier this week, I talked about the technical requirements for taking a picture of an interference pattern from two independent lasers, and mentioned in passing that a 1967 experiment by Pfleegor and Mandel had already shown the interference effect. Their experiment was clever enough to deserve the ResearchBlogging Q&A treatment, though, so here we go:… Continue reading Interference of Independent Photon Beams: The Pfleegor-Mandel Experiment
The ABC’s of AMO Physics
Over at Confused at a Higher Level, Melissa offers an alphabetical list of essential supplies for a condensed matter experimentalist at a small college. This is a fun idea for back-to-school time, so I’ll steal it, and offer the following alphabetical list of essentials for Atomic, Molecular, and Optical physics at a small college, kind… Continue reading The ABC’s of AMO Physics
There’s More to Science Than Evolution
The National Science Board made a deeply regrettable decision to omit questions on evolution and the Big Bang from the Science and Engineering Indicators report for 2010. As you might expect, this has stirred up some controversy. I wasn’t surprised to learn this, as I had already noticed the omission a couple of months ago,… Continue reading There’s More to Science Than Evolution
Amazing Laser Application 3: Lunar Laser Ranging!
What’s the application? Measuring the distance from the Earth to the Moon by bouncing a laser off one of the retro-reflector arrays left there by the Apollo missions. What problem(s) is it the solution to? 1) “How does the distance from the Earth to the Moon vary over time due to things like tidal drag?”… Continue reading Amazing Laser Application 3: Lunar Laser Ranging!