New Update

Hey guys - just a quick update - more to come later; So I passed the qualification exams and am officially en-route for the phD.

The experiments are still going on. I'll post detailed explanations soon-

Thanks for all the support!

Update

Hey guys - so quick update on what's about: I'm currently taking a "break" from lab activities (sadly); actually it's not so much a break but a gallivant on the terrains of physics - which is a pathetic way of saying that I'm revising/preparing for an upcoming exam. Meanwhile all the vacuum components of my experiment are coming in which is really exciting! I'm looking forward to building it. The design is still under radar so I can't post it - but stay tuned and I promise that by mid-September I'll have the 3D model up for both our experiments, and MAN ARE THEY PRETTY!

While you are waiting, I recommend listening to Ravi Shankar's Live at the Monterey (esp. Raga Bhimpalashree(or si) - Ravi call's it si) - you guys are well aware of my love for classical music! Also please post your thoughts - that way we'll have a regular dialogue. I'm available on the blog almost 24/7.

Hope all of you are doing well - and as always keep me posted!

Department of Energy Funding!

We won another grant, this time specifically for my primary experiment that is to do with Atomic Chip Microscopy!!! We are very excited as this grant will really help us with our experiments.

This grant was from the generous folks at the Department of Energy, who not only fulfilled our wishes but in-fact went above and beyond! Trust me guys, it's a HUGE grant!

MOT

New images of the MOT: the bright glow in the center is due to light scattered by the Dysprosium atoms trapped at the center of the MOT. It's HUGE - I can't reveal numbers yet, so wait for our paper! Note that the image is saturated because the scattered light is so bright. Look up our website for better photos later.

Light Saber?

This is a view of 421 nm light being scattered by the atoms as it travels through the zeeman slower beam. It reminds me of the light saber from Star Wars.

Note: All experiment related images etc. are copyright LevLab. If you want to use them you have to ask permission from my advisor, Dr. Benjamin Lev first!

Check out how intense the blue beam is, it's about 1 Watt of 421 nm light.

More pics of the Laser System

Entire system - the blue glow is absolutely spectacular in real life. Actually, it's more towards the violet side of the spectrum. Unfortunately, the color does not show up right in the camera.

As a point of information, if any of that beam hits your eyes - you go blind. The glow itself is diffused enough not to be a problem, but we wear special protective glasses anyway.

The following pictures from actual experimental runs. Mingwu had just integrated our second laser system for the Zeeman Slower beam.

Some Pics from Art Gallery at Chicago

Paintings that I liked - includes two of my favorites: Joseph Mallord William Turner & Pierre-Auguste Renoir,

LASERS

Internals of our new laser system.

The green light is from a Verdi 532 nm running at 18 Watts. It serves as the pump beam for a Titanium-Sapphire laser which has a wide lasing bandwidth. For us, it works at 842 nm. The 842 nm seeds a doubler, which doubles the frequency (or halves the wavelength) to produce a 421 nm blue light that is critical for creating our MOT.

Introduction

So, I guess I'll just start with a brief intro to my whereabouts - it should provide a nice transition into the subject of my first topic that, I am told, has created a lot of excitement.

Most of you are aware that I did my undergraduate studies at Colgate University in New York - majoring officially in Physics and Computer Science. Following a hectic, but thoroughly enjoyable senior year, I moved from NY to the "middling" lands of Illinois.

I am currently at Urbana-Champaign in Illinois, doing my Ph.D. in the Physics Department, under the auspicies of Dr. Benjamin Lev. I've been here for a year now, and I must admit that it's been a very interesting one.

I spent most of last year getting used to Urbana-Champaign. It should suffice to say, that coming from Colgate - a school whose town, Hamilton, changes definition from town to village over summer - to UIUC that houses more than 250,000, took some getting used to. But then again, given my background in cities like Calcutta, London, and NYC - it was perhaps not that bad...
or was it? I don't want to be disingenuous - I really miss the cosmopolitan atmosphere. On the other hand though, one of the reasons I chose to come to UIUC, was to escape "distractions" that would undoubtedly get the best of me, and I wouldn't be able to focus on Science.

Physics at UIUC is quite spectacular. It is incredibly exciting to work with some of the smartest and most creative people on the planet. My own group, at the moment, consists of my advisor, Professor Lev, and two graduate students - Mingwu Lu and Seo Ho Youn. We will soon have a Post Doc., Brian Kash joining us. Our first experiment involves the study of a very exotic atom called Dysprosium (Dy) - the idea being the utilization of its humongous 10 Bohr-Magneton magnetic dipole moment, which is the strongest of all atoms in the Universe. On the 10th of April, 2009 at 5:05 pm, we were the first people in the world to be able to laser cool and trap Dy atoms in a Magneto-Optical Trap (MOT) We are still in the process of studying its properties and getting ready to publish. There is a short summary of the project on physics.uiuc.edu. Hopefully, it'll be up for sometime; however, I intend to post several articles on the experiment on this blog - with ample background information to help those who are curious to know about it.