Antimatter has been talked about a lot since its discovery in the last century, but what exactly is being researched about it? One such experiment is the ALPHA (Antihydrogen Laser Physics Apparatus) experiment at CERN. This experiment focuses on antihydrogen and doing precise measurements. I will cover basics about antimatter, its production, the project, and some things I learned working with CERN.
Be sure to swing by the SPS Carnival on Friday, Feb 7, from 5:00–7:00 PM in the Birge Breezeway. It’ll be a great chance to have some fun, meet your peers, and enjoy some food!
Read MoreNitrogen vacancy centers in diamond are a type of defect that is particularly useful for quantum sensing. We’ll begin by introducing NV centers, how they can be used for magnetometry because of Zeeman splitting, and the way we can generally design sensing devices using them. Then, we’ll focus on two projects I’ve been working on: a ‘quantum microscope’ for NMR which allows us to prove newly small sample volumes, and an extremely sensitive (and portable!) magnetometer. I will be focusing on the design of these devices, particularly the design of the antennas which control the NV center spins. We’ll talk about why these devices are useful, and conclude by discussing some next steps.
Read More