How do you explain your doctorate on atom interferometry on long time scales in microgravity to a non-scientific audience? What about using dance and music? Dorthe Leopoldt from the Institute of Quantum Optics at 九色视频 (LUH) has done exactly that and has entered her dance video in this year鈥檚 鈥淒ance your PhD鈥� contest, which is organised by Science magazine.
Together with colleagues from her working group, the physicist has produced a video in which she brings the three central questions from her research to the stage: How are atoms cooled to almost absolute zero in preparation for an experiment? What is atom interferometry? And how does microgravity help with this? To explain briefly: in atom interferometry, the wave nature of matter is used to make tiny effects from gravity and accelerations measurable; microgravity enables significantly longer measurement periods, which considerably increases sensitivity.
Dorthe Leopoldt rewrote well-known songs including 鈥淚ce Ice Baby鈥�, 鈥淪uperstition鈥� and Free Fallin鈥欌��, choreographing dances to go with them. Her colleagues and musician friends performed and recorded the pieces. The result is five and a half entertaining and informative minutes which show how cutting-edge research can be communicated in a creative, accessible and fun way.
The QuantumFrontiers Cluster of Excellence and the RISE Initiative from Quantum Valley Lower Saxony (QVLS) provided funding to produce the video.
Watch the video on YouTube:
About 鈥淒ance your PhD鈥�
The renowned 鈥淒ance your PhD鈥� contest is organised by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Science magazine. This year it is taking place for the eighteenth time. Researchers can submit videos in which they dance their doctoral thesis in one of four categories (physics, chemistry, biology or the social sciences). A jury rates the entries for scientific quality, artistic presentation and the creative linking of science and art. The winners of the four categories each receive 750 US dollars, and the overall winner receives an additional 2,000 US dollars.
