An Introduction to Optical Trapping

www.thorlabs.c...
In this video, Steve Wasserman and Steven Nagel of the Bioinstrumentation Teaching Lab in the MIT Department of Biological Engineering explain the basics of optical trapping and methods for calibrating optical traps using Thorlabs' modular optical tweezers.
0:00 Introduction
1:30 Optical Trapping Review
2:55 Instrument Overview
3:17 System Block Diagram
5:58 Position Detection
6:14 QPD Position Detector
7:03 QPD Calibration Method 1
7:38 Optical Trap Model
8:21 Equipartition Calibration
9:12 PSD Calibration
10:14 PSD Calibration: Finding R
12:22 Stokes Calibration

[@RanjitDe]

Excellent presentation and explanation. It has helped me, a beginner, a lot. Thank you.

[@MayTheOddsBeInYourFavor]

Extremely helpful. I have to present on what on optical trap is in two days and this really broke it down for me; thanks guys! It'd be helpful though if the volume of the video was increased.

[@AudioCrossingVideos]

So the 2018 Nobel Prize was given for Optical Tweezers, but the practice has been around for years? I don't get it, I thought the Prize was given for new developments in that year?

[@lkjadslkfjlaksj]

Nobel prizes in the sciences usually aren't awarded until the impact of the discovery is known. This is because, in the early days of the prize, they embarrassingly awarded the prize for discoveries which were then later discredited.

[@Dhelira]

Great and extremely useful presentation. Thank you

[@dn-wb7uk]

Thank you for the wonderful video! I have a naive question, is gravitational force on the bead already accounted for when calculating the total net force?

[@xs6819]

This plus cryo electron microscopy is going the change everything!

[@ShivnarayanDhuppar]

Better I had come here without wasting time reading a botched up account on wikipedia.
Thanks much!

[@maneki9neko]

Very helpful.

[@sekritengineeringprojekt2101]

Holographic displays are not far away due to this.

[@markvincentordiz]

the man without beard is hot