Quantum Aspects of Light

About the lecture

In this mini-lecture, we explore light in the context of quantum physics. In particular, we consider: (i) the wave-particle duality of light; (ii) quantum technology, including quantum computers and their basic building blocks involving optical circuits; (iii) Thomas Young’s double slit experiment that displays light behaving as a wave; (iv) an interactive simulation (Physics Education Technology, University of Colorado, Wave Interference Simulation, 2021) illustrating the double slit experiment; (v) the double slit experiment done with very dim light so that one photon at a time passes through the slits, which still results in a wave-like interference pattern; (vi) the thought experiment known as Heisenberg’s microscope that helps us understand which path the photon took through the slits to get to the screen; (vii) complementarity in quantum mechanics, in which we can only see the wave-like property of light or the particle-like property of light, not both; and (viii) some quotes from Richard Feynman’s Messenger Lectures at Cornell University in 1964.

About the lecturer

Charles Adams is a Professor in the Department of Physics at Durham University. His principal research interests are in experimental quantum optics, in particular light-matter interactions in strongly-interacting atomic systems. He was the 2014 recipient of the Joseph Thomson Medal, awarded by the Institute of Physics (IOP) to those who have made distinguished contributions to atomic or molecular physics. In 2020, he was awarded the Holweck Prize by the French Physical Society and the IOP for pioneering work in quantum optics. Professor Adams is also a co-author of the optics textbook Optics f2f: From Fourier to Fresnel (2018).