Currently, Berkeley Chemistry fellows (postdocs, graduate students, and undergrads) are using extreme ultraviolet (XUV) light generated by table-top lasers to probe potential solar energy converting materials in order to analyze their charge carriers’ excitation and relaxation process.
As part of a mini-unit on Introduction to Quantum Mechanics, I will first conduct a brief survey of students’ attitudes toward the relevance of quantum physics. I will then discuss with the students the usefulness and practical applications of quantum mechanical tunneling.
Laser Maze is an activity that will engage students in learning and utilizing the properties of light waves, such as reflection, transmission, and absorbance, as well as highlighting the importance of these properties in research use by having students create mock ‘pump-probe’ experiments.