By Atticus Brigham
William Phillips dazzled approximately one hundred and twenty people, including President Dr. Stephen G. Emerson ‘74, with a talk on November 16 covering time and temperature. He won the Nobel Prize in 1997 for his work in laser cooling, a technique to slow the movement of gaseous atoms in order to better study them.
Phillips, who works at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and teaches physics at University of Maryland, is a founding member of the International Society for Science and Religion. Andrew Sturner ‘12, Phillips’ nephew, talked about when he found out his uncle had won the Nobel Prize, saying, “As a second grader this meant nothing to me.” Even though Sturner now comprehends the gravity of such an achievement, he said, “As I wrote in my essay applying to Haverford, he is just still Uncle Bill to me.”
Phillips explained that the liquid nitrogen he was pouring around Sharpless Auditorium was boiling because the surfaces are much hotter in comparison. This boiling, which appeared to the crowd, as smoke emanated from every surface the liquid nitrogen touched, occurred at a temperature of 77 Kelvin, which is -321 °F.
Phillips explained how very cold temperatures could be used to slow down atoms, which would allow for close examination. He is continually looking for colder and colder temperatures to slow atoms down further.
“I’ve been working on this since 1978 and I haven’t spent the last half of my life trying to make half-fast atoms," he said. "I want mine to be really slow.”
With the air of an adventurer, Phillips said, “We’ve been on an odyssey of getting to lower and lower temperatures. By 1995 we had cooled cesium atoms less than 1cm/s.”
The talk also included a brief explanation of how radar guns detect speed, why one magnet floats over another magnet only while spinning, and a video of cesium atoms moving over Prokofiev music. Near the end Phillips removed from a tub of liquid nitrogen balloons, which re-inflated and were bounced around the room, and removed a flower from another tub of liquid nitrogen and crushed it like glass, and poured liquid nitrogen down the circular staircase in Sharpless.
Many students enjoyed the lecture. Drew Twitchell ’11 called it “epic fulfillment."
"It was thought provoking. It had something for everyone," agreed Peter Kissin ‘13, a prospective physics major. "The ‘magic’ tricks were captivating.”
Jack McNeely ’13 said, “For someone without a strong physics background, it was approachable.”
Phillips ended the lecture saying, “I’ve always told Andrew [Sturner] that life is an adventure and one of the most precious gifts we’re given is the ability to learn about what makes the world work. I encourage you all to explore that.”
This article is © 2008 The Bi-College News. The material on this page is free for personal or educational use, but may not be reproduced, reprinted, republished, redistributed, or otherwise transmitted to a third party without the express written permission of The Bi-College News, 370 Lancaster Ave, Haverford, PA 19041.
Editor's note: Articles that appear in the Last Word section are works of satire.
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