The Experiment That Created Ultracold Atoms | Bill Phillips

Описание: Bill made atoms 0.000004°C above absolute zero. Here’s how.

Watch the full interview here:    • Laser Cooling and Quantum Timekeeping | Bi...  

Nobel Prize–winning physicist Bill Phillips recounts the experiment that shattered the accepted limits of laser cooling. Early theory predicted atoms could not be cooled below the Doppler limit of about 240 microkelvin. But when Phillips and his team carefully remeasured atomic temperatures, they found atoms nearly six times colder than theory allowed.

He explains the method behind optical molasses, the unexpected anomalies in their experiments, and the dramatic moment when gravity itself revealed that atoms were moving far slower than anyone thought possible. This accidental discovery led to the understanding of Sisyphus cooling, defied established physics, and earned Phillips the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics.

If you’re curious about how great scientific breakthroughs happen — when experiments reveal something theory insists is impossible — this conversation delivers a rare, first-hand account of discovery.

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