Brownian ratchets are nanodevices capable of extracting useful work from environmental noise to create directed motion of particles in the absence of a net force. Research in this area is inspired by biomolecular motors that power the processes of life by utilizing random fluctuations in their environment. These naturally occurring nanodevices are several orders of […]
C38: Compact Imaging of a Laser Beam using a Polarimeter
Author(s): Krist Ha, Engineering Physics, Sawyer Wozniak, Physics Advisor(s): Edward Samson, Department of Physics
CSIV-04: 2D Ratcheting of Cold Atoms
Brownian motion was originally discovered as a biological phenomenon, when botanist Robert Brown observed rapid oscillatory motions of pollen grains in water under a microscope. This phenomenon was originally thought only to be present in living organisms, but further research showed that Brownian motion was observed in all physical systems, from particles of smoke to […]