What is matter made of? If we could zoom in to unimaginably small scales, we’d see atoms and gases teeming with electrons in constant motion. Laser spectroscopy is one of the powerful tools scientists use to explore this microscopic world. Birgitta Schulze-Bernhardt will guide us through what we can uncover about the infinitesimally small and how this knowledge impacts the view of the world we live in.

References:

[1] RP Photonics Encyclopaedia: https://www.rp-photonics.com/encyclopedia.html

[2] Optical frequency comb: https://www.nist.gov/topics/physics/optical-frequency-combs

[3] Dual-comb spectroscopy: https://opg.optica.org/optica/fulltext.cfm?uri=optica-3-4-414&id=338991

[4] One of Birgitta's team recent paper: Fürst, L., Kirchner, A., Eber, A., Siegrist, F., Di Vora, R., and Bernhardt, B., Broadband near-ultraviolet dual comb spectroscopy, (2024), Optica, Vol. 11, Issue 4, 471, (2024), https://doi.org/10.1364/OPTICA.516783

What does one mean by philosophy of physics? How can philosophy help us understand the physical world? In particular, when it comes to quantum mechanics, human intuition seems to break down. Is the wave function real, or is it just a construct we use to make sense of experiments? Is reality truly based on probabilities? In this episode we continue our journey into the relationship between philosophy and physics with Axel Maas and Philip Berghofer from University of Graz. The first part of our conversation with them can be found at episode "Philosophy and Physics - Part 1"

References:
Axel Maas on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/axelmaas.bsky.social
Axel Maas's webpage: https://particle.uni-graz.at/en/structures-and-observables/
Philip Berghofer's webpages: https://uni-graz.academia.edu/PhilippBerghofer, https://philippberghofer.com/
 Some slides about philosophy of physics: https://static.uni-graz.at/fileadmin/_Persoenliche_Webseite/maas_axel/urania24.pdfBook "Gauge symmetries, symmetry breaking, and gauge-invariant approaches": https://arxiv.org/abs/2110.00616

What do you know about paper? It is a very common "object" in our everyday experience and still there is so much to discover about it! Karin Zojer, Professor at Graz University of Technology, leads us through the fascinating world of simulating real materials, paper included, highlighting the role of experiments in the process. Are you ready to dive in?
To tell us what you think about the podcast and/or if you want to take part in the audience participation section, send an email to [email protected] and we will get back to you and set you up. Every feedback is appreciated!

What if we could "kick" one electron now and have a current going on forever? Christoph Heil, Professor at Graz University of Technology, tells us that when things get really (really!) cool this is already possible. But it comes at a price...

To tell us what you think about the podcast and/or if you want to take part in the audience participation section, send an email to [email protected] and we will get back to you and set you up. Every feedback is appreciated!
References:

Christoph Heil’s group webpage:https://cheil.github.io/

"Talk Science to Me“ podcast episode:https://letscast.fm/sites/talk-science-to-me-33062f96/episode/talk-science-to-me-29-supraleiter

"I Spy Science" Youtube video on superconductors:https://youtu.be/l4u-GYTrByU

A roadmap article from 2021 about superconductivity (open access):https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-648X/ac2864

"More is different". The famous quote from P. Anderson. What did he mean by that? Why is interaction between particles so interesting and difficult to describe? We continue on our journey through the fascinating realm of quantum physics: this time Markus Aichhorn, Professor at Graz University of Technology, will tell us about what happens when many particles interact at the quantum level...
To tell us what you think about the podcast and/or if you want to take part in the audience participation section, send an email to [email protected] and we will get back to you and set you up. Every feedback is appreciated!

References: 
Ernst Peter Fischer: Die Stunde der Physiker, C.H.Beck; 2. Edition 2022Alistair Rae: Quantenphysik, Illusion oder Realität, Reclam

Have you ever heard about the Schroedinger cat? And what about particles that move like waves?

Quantum mechanics is full of wonders but provides answers that often challenge our intuition. Markus Aichhorn, Professor at Graz University of Technology, will walk us through these and other interesting aspects...

To tell us what you think about the podcast and/or if you want to take part in the audience participation section, send an email to [email protected] and we will get back to you and set you up. Every feedback is appreciated!

References: 
Ernst Peter Fischer: Die Stunde der Physiker, C.H.Beck; 2. Edition 2022Alistair Rae: Quantenphysik, Illusion oder Realität, Reclam

To tell us what you think about the podcast and/or if you want to take part in the audience participation section, send an email to [email protected] and we will get back to you and set you up. Every feedback is appreciated!