physics

Wolfgang Ketterle

Wolfgang Ketterle is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Wolfgang Ketterle rather than just read about it. In short: Wolfgang Ketterle (German pronunciation: [ˈvɔlfɡaŋ ˈkɛtɐlə] ; born 21 October 1957) is a German physicist and professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His research has focused on experiments that trap and cool atoms to temperatures close to absolute zero, and he led one of the first groups to realize Bose–Einstein condensation in these systems in 1995.

Key takeaways

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Reference excerpt

Wolfgang Ketterle (German pronunciation: [ˈvɔlfɡaŋ ˈkɛtɐlə] ; born 21 October 1957) is a German physicist and professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His research has focused on experiments that trap and cool atoms to temperatures close to absolute zero, and he led one of the first groups to realize Bose–Einstein condensation in these systems in 1995. For this achievement, as well as early fundamental studies of condensates, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2001, together with Eric Allin Cornell and Carl Wieman.

Biography Ketterle was born in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, and attended school in Eppelheim and Heidelberg. In 1976 he entered the University of Heidelberg, before transferring to the Technical University of Munich two years later, where he gained the equivalent of his master's diploma in 1982. In 1986 he earned a PhD in experimental molecular spectroscopy under the supervision of Herbert Walther and Hartmut Figger at the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Garching, before conducting postdoctoral research at Garching and the University of Heidelberg. In 1990 he joined the group of David E. Pritchard in the Research Laboratory of Electronics at MIT (RLE). He was appointed to the MIT physics faculty in 1993 and, since 1998, he has been John D. MacArthur Professor of Physics. In 2006, he was appointed Associate Director of RLE and began serving as director of MIT's Center for Ultracold Atoms. After achieving Bose–Einstein condensation in dilute gases in 1995, his group was in 1997 able to demonstrate interference between two colliding condensates, as well as the first realization of an "atom laser", the atomic analogue of an optical laser. In addition to ongoing investigations of Bose–Einstein condensates in ultracold atoms, his more recent achievements have included the creation of a molecular Bose condensate in 2003, as well as a 2005 experiment providing evidence for "high-temperature" superfluidity in a fermionic condensate.

Ketterle is also a runner, and was featured in the December 2009 issue of Runner's World's "I'm a Runner". Ketterle spoke of taking his running shoes to Stockholm when he received the Nobel Prize and happily running in the early dusk. Ketterle completed the 2013 Boston Marathon with a time of 2:49:16, and in 2014, in Boston, ran a personal record of 2:44:06. Ketterle serves on the board of trustees of the Center for Excellence in Education (CEE), and participates in the Distinguished Lecture Series of CEE's flagship program for high-school students, the Research Science Institute (RSI), which Ketterle's own son Jonas attended in 2003. Ketterle sits on the International Scientific Advisory Committee of Australia's ARC Centre of Excellence in Future Low-Energy Electronics Technologies. Ketterle is one of the 20 American recipients of the Nobel Prize in Physics to sign a letter addressed to President George W. Bush in May 2008, urging him to "reverse the damage done to basic science research in the Fiscal Year 2008 Omnibus Appropriations Bill" by requesting additional emergency funding for the Department of Energy's Office of Science, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Personal life Ketterle has been married to Michèle Plott since 2011. He has five children, three with Gabriele Ketterle, to whom he was married from 1985 to 2001. Gabriele filed for divorce two months before Ketterle was awarded the Nobel prize.

Publications K. B. Davis; M. O. Mewes; M. R. Andrews; N. J. van Druten; D. S. Durfee; D. M. Kurn & W. Ketterle (27 November 1995). "Bose-Einstein Condensation in a Gas of Sodium Atoms" (PDF). Physical Review Letters. 75 (22): 3969–3973. Bibcode:1995PhRvL..75.3969D. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.75.3969. PMID 10059782. S2CID 975895. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 August 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019. M. R. Andrews; C. G. Townsend; H.-J. Miesner; D. S. Durfee; D. M. Kurn & W. Ketterle (1997). "Observation of interference between two Bose condensates". Science. 275 (5300): 637–641. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.38.8970. doi:10.1126/science.275.5300.637. PMID 9005843. S2CID 38284718. {{cite journal}}: Cite uses deprecated parameter |citeseerx= (help) M. O. Mewes; M. R. Andrews; D. M. Kurn; D. S. Durfee; C. G. Townsend & W. Ketterle (27 January 1997). "Output Coupler for Bose-Einstein Condensed Atoms". Physical Review Letters. 78 (4): 582–585. Bibcode:1997PhRvL..78..582M. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.78.582. S2CID 9560538. M. W. Zwierlein; C. A. Stan; C. H. Schunck; S. M. F. Raupach; S. Gupta; Z. Hadzibabic & W. Ketterle (2003). "Observation of Bose-Einstein Condensation of Molecules". Physical Review Letters. 91 (25) 250401. arXiv:cond-mat/0311617. Bibcode:2003PhRvL..91y0401Z. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.91.250401. PMID 14754098. S2CID 8342544.

References

External links

Wolfgang Ketterle on Nobelprize.org including the Nobel Lecture 8 December 2001 "When Atoms Behave as Waves: Bose-Einstein Condensation and the Atom Laser" Ketterle at MIT Ketterle at RLE Video Interview Text interview Interview at American Scientist

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wolfgang Ketterle

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Wolfgang Ketterle claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Wolfgang Ketterle before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Wolfgang Ketterle ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Wolfgang Ketterle

In research: Wolfgang Ketterle appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Wolfgang Ketterle in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Wolfgang Ketterle is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1957 births, 20th-century German physicists, 21st-century German physicists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Wolfgang Ketterle outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Wolfgang Ketterle in 20 minutes

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Frequently asked questions

What is Wolfgang Ketterle in simple terms?

Why does Wolfgang Ketterle matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Wolfgang Ketterle?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Wolfgang Ketterle.