Splash Biography

TAI XIANG, Graduate student studying atomic physics

Major: Physics

College/Employer: UC Berkeley

Year of Graduation: G

Brief Biographical Sketch:

I work on an experiment where we cool Rubidium atoms to a really really cold temperature so they are very still. We then trap them in optical tweezers, place them into a cavity and do lots of fun physics on them! Our work ranges from the study of phase transitions to quantum computing and quantum simulation.

Past Classes

(Clicking a class title will bring you to the course's section of the corresponding course catalog)

S1310: A Tour of the Quantum Lands in Splash Fall 2024 (Nov. 16, 2024)

I will historically motivate the need for a quantum theory and introduce some of the strange phenomena. We will then utilize the tools we have developed to intuitively demonstrate how a quantum particle can tunnel through a barrier. We will then examine the probability of spontaneously falling through the floor due to such effects.

S1311: Experiments with Quantum Mechanics in Splash Fall 2024 (Nov. 16, 2024)

We will survey some landmark experiments that either shed light on the quantum world or harness it for clever applications. I will briefly discuss some techniques in modern experimental physics and the shocking degree of control we have on quantum systems. This course is a complement to the course "A Tour of the Quantum Land".

S1236: Atomic Bomb Blasts: Thinking Like a Physicist in Splash Spring 2024 (Apr. 21, 2024)

We will estimate the energy released in an atomic bomb explosion with nothing but basic physics and some pictures. Along the way, we will learn about how physicists approach problems.

S1237: Quantum Mechanics, Quantum Tunneling, and the Probability of Falling Through the Floor in Splash Spring 2024 (Apr. 21, 2024)

I will do my best to give an abstract and understandable introduction to quantum mechanics and the phenomena of quantum tunneling. We will then examine the probability of spontaneously falling through the floor due to such effects.

S1123: Atomic Bomb Blasts: Thinking Like a Physicist in Splash Fall 2023 (Nov. 18, 2023)

We will estimate the energy released in an atomic bomb explosion with nothing but basic physics and some pictures. Along the way, we will learn about how physicists approach problems.