Professor Ketterle spoke at the International Year of Quantum Summit in the Milestones section of the program.
This was a free public family-friendly event taking place at the Grove of Anaheim on the weekend before the Global Physics Summit.

He was on stage explaining Bose-Einstein condensation during the performance of Quantum Journeys which included an exploration of quantum wonders aboard the International Space Station. The show also featured the live generation of a BEC on board of the space station via a direct link to the control center at JPL at Caltch.

Quantum Mechanics Near Absolute Zero Temperature

Quantum mechanics describes the microscopic physics of atoms, nuclei and elementary particles. However, when particles are cooled to very low temperatures, their de Broglie wavelength increases and new quantum phenomena are observed: Low temperature opens another window into the quantum world.

Laser cooling and evaporative cooling create atoms at nanokelvin temperatures with de Broglie wavelengths exceeding 1 micrometer. The observation of Bose-Einstein condensation and degenerate Fermi seas have led to a wide range of studies of ulracold quantum matter. Of special interest are superfluids which can flow without dissipation, the study of interacting spins, and quantum phase transitions which occur even at zero temperature.

Past Scientific Community

Prof Ketterle at IYQ Summit