Laser Cooling and Quantum Timekeeping | Bill Phillips
632nm9 Syys 2025

Laser Cooling and Quantum Timekeeping | Bill Phillips

How did cooling atoms with lasers revolutionize our understanding of time?

In this episode, we speak with Bill Phillips, Nobel Laureate in Physics, about his groundbreaking work on laser cooling and trapping of atoms: research that not only won him the Nobel Prize but also transformed modern timekeeping and technology. Phillips explains why breaking the Doppler cooling limit changed physics forever and what it means that today’s clocks can measure time differences caused by moving a device just a few millimeters in Earth’s gravity.

We discuss the history of timekeeping from sundials to atomic clocks, how Einstein’s relativity reshaped our view of time, and the serendipitous discovery of sub-Doppler cooling that opened the door to ultra-precise measurement, quantum computing, and fundamental tests of nature. Along the way, Phillips reflects on the culture of physics, the importance of mentorship, and the joy of discovery.

Whether you’re curious about time, relativity, quantum physics, GPS technology, or the frontiers of precision measurement, this conversation offers rare insight into how science, collaboration, and curiosity converge to shape the modern world.

Follow us for more technical interviews with the world’s greatest scientists:

Twitter: https://x.com/632nmPodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/632nmpodcast?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/632nm/about/
Substack: https://632nmpodcast.substack.com/

Follow our hosts!

Michael Dubrovsky: https://x.com/MikeDubrovsky
Misha Shalaginov: https://x.com/MYShalaginov
Xinghui Yin: https://x.com/XinghuiYin

Subscribe:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/632nm/id1751170269
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4aVH9vT5qp5UUUvQ6Uf6OR
Website: [https://www.632nm.com](https://www.632nm.com/)

Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
01:43 - What is Time?
05:49 - How Did Bill Get Into Atom Cooling?
18:30 - How Do Atomic Clocks Actually Work?
31:08 - History of Atomic Clocks
37:18 - Laser Cooling for Atomic Clocks
40:49 - How To Synchronize Atomic Clocks
43:20 - How Cesium Cooling Was Developed
45:48 - Pushing Beyond the Doppler Limit
49:47 - The Beginning of Thor Labs
52:45 - The Previous Limits were Wrong
1:05:37 - How Bill Broke the Doppler Limit
1:12:22 - What is Optical Pumping?
1:20:27 - Can Atom Trapping Be Leveraged For Cold Fusion?
1:31:32 - What Makes Bill So Lucky?
1:35:25 - How Bill's Work Led to Atomic Clocks
1:41:05 - What Makes Cesium So Good For Atomic Clocks?
1:47:38 - Quantum Effects on Atomic Clocks
1:59:02 - Bose-Einstein Condensates
2:09:05 - Did Bill's Work Lead To Quantum Computing?
2:11:26 - Bill's Thoughts on the Future

#billphillips #nobelprize #laser #atomicclock #dopplereffect #quantumcomputing #quantumphysics #gps #physics #boseeinsteincondensate #theoreticalphysics #relativity

Jaksot(47)

Trapped Ion Quantum Computing: Christopher Monroe of IonQ

Trapped Ion Quantum Computing: Christopher Monroe of IonQ

In this episode of the 632nm podcast, our guest traces the evolution from the early days of Bose-Einstein condensation experiments to pioneering trapped ion quantum gateways. He reveals how breakthrou...

2 Touko 20252h 25min

Maintaining Moore's Law: Lithography, Semiconductors, and Chip Fabrication with Mordechai Rothschild

Maintaining Moore's Law: Lithography, Semiconductors, and Chip Fabrication with Mordechai Rothschild

In this episode of the 632nm podcast, we explore how 193nm lasers unexpectedly overtook x-ray approaches and reshaped semiconductor manufacturing. Physicist Mordechai Rothschild describes the breakthr...

14 Huhti 20252h 7min

Quantum Cascade Lasers: Federico Capasso on Curiosity and Bell Labs

Quantum Cascade Lasers: Federico Capasso on Curiosity and Bell Labs

In this episode, physicist Federico Capasso recounts his winding path from struggling undergrad to pioneering inventor of the quantum cascade laser. He reveals how openness, daring ideas, and the bott...

1 Huhti 20251h 32min

How Edison Inspired Eli Yablonovitch to Create Four World-Changing Inventions

How Edison Inspired Eli Yablonovitch to Create Four World-Changing Inventions

Eli Yablonovitch shares how Thomas Edison's approach of requiring "a thousand failed discoveries for every one that works" shaped his scientific philosophy. From solar cells to semiconductor lasers to...

14 Maalis 20253h

From Failed PhD to Nobel Prize | John Mather’s Journey to Revolutionize Astronomy

From Failed PhD to Nobel Prize | John Mather’s Journey to Revolutionize Astronomy

Join the 632nm team as we sit down with Nobel laureate Dr. John Mather. From his childhood days of building radios and telescopes to leading NASA's groundbreaking COBE mission, learn how a spectacular...

25 Helmi 20251h 53min

Hunting for Alien Artifacts | Avi Loeb

Hunting for Alien Artifacts | Avi Loeb

Join the 632nm team as we sit down with Harvard Professor Avi Loeb, in this fascinating exploration of astronomy, alien life, and the intersection of science and politics. From discussing the mysterio...

18 Helmi 20253h 37min

Are We Doomed? | Dan Aronovich on Norbert Wiener's 1948 “Cybernetics”

Are We Doomed? | Dan Aronovich on Norbert Wiener's 1948 “Cybernetics”

In this episode, the 632nm team sits down with Dan Aronovich (Data Science Decoded Podcast) to explore predictions about technology and society, starting with MIT pioneer Norbert Wiener's remarkably p...

10 Helmi 202558min

Information, Entropy & Reality | MIT Professor Seth Lloyd on Quantum Computing

Information, Entropy & Reality | MIT Professor Seth Lloyd on Quantum Computing

The 632nm team sat down with MIT professor Seth Lloyd for a mind-bending journey through quantum mechanics, information theory, and the early days of quantum computing. Lloyd shares fascinating storie...

3 Helmi 20252h 3min

Suosittua kategoriassa Tiede

rss-mita-tulisi-tietaa
tiedekulma-podcast
rss-poliisin-mieli
utelias-mieli
rss-duodecim-lehti
mielipaivakirja
rss-metsantuntijat-podcast
rss-luontopodi-samuel-glassar-tutkii-luonnon-ihmeita
university-of-eastern-finland
docemilia
vinkista-vihia
rss-vaasan-yliopiston-podcastit
rss-duokkari-ekstra
rss-astetta-parempi-elama-podcast
rss-tiedetta-vai-tarinaa
rss-pandapodi
rss-lapsuuden-rakentajat-podcast
rss-miljonaarien-tasavalta