#634 overall
Atomic Physics (Wolfgang Ketterle)
MIT OpenCourseWare
1 recommender · 1 thread · recommended in 1 year, 2026 · score 0.7
An MIT OpenCourseWare course on atomic physics taught by Wolfgang Ketterle, covering atomic structure and the behavior of atoms at very low temperatures, including laser cooling and trapping of single atoms. Commenters note the first lecture is an informal overview.
A commenter calls it the best find for getting a feel for the intricate structure of basic atomic processes and the quantum aspects of matter, with vivid descriptions of ultracold atom phenomena.
Mathematicsintermediatefreevideo lectures#atomic physics#ultracold atoms#bose-einstein condensate#laser cooling#ketterle
Recommendations by year
20062026
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.