Author Archives: spencerjolly

A Trio of Terahertz Papers

A large portion of my work during my PhD, from 2014 to the end of 2017, was with the goal of producing high energy terahertz pulses. Terahertz radiation is named after the unique frequency band centered on 1 THz (1*10^12 … Continue reading

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Photonics Publications, Q1+Q2 2019

Following up on my previous post I thought I would recount my favorite and most respected publications of the first half of 2019. — First, there are the three papers on which I’m a listed author (bias intended!): 1 April, … Continue reading

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Favorite Photonics Publications of 2018

As is necessary this time of year, I reflected on my favorite optics/photonics and laser physics publications of this past year. Definitely not an exhaustive list, and heavily biased by my favorite topics and specialization (ultrafast optics, laser-plasma interactions, particle … Continue reading

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Nobel Prize in Physics 2018

Two weeks ago, the Nobel prize in physics was announced to be awarded to three physicists for two topics, both dealing with laser physics. One half was awarded to Arthur Ashkin for his invention and perfection of the optical tweezers, … Continue reading

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What is Climate?

This is an answer to The Flame Challenge™ 2018 – What is Climate? – by the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University. Let’s talk about basketball for a second. Ignore the title and bear with me, … Continue reading

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Why the Laser is Important

As I head down the rabbit hole of my own bias, I hope to explain why the laser (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) is so important. I am a practicing laser physicist, and have already given short arguments … Continue reading

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Why Physics is Important

I already made the case for why science is important, but why is physics specifically important? All of the same arguments for science apply to physics just as well. However, physics by its nature has a unique place within science … Continue reading

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Why Science is Important

To some of the people who are interested in this blog, or maybe most of the people, the answer to the question “why is science important?” might seem painfully obvious. Although I may agree at some times, the discussion of … Continue reading

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Introduction to the Ponderomotive.com Blog

Welcome to Ponderomotive.com, and the first post on the blog, the main component of the site. My name is Spencer Jolly and I am currently a PhD student in Physics studying at The University of Hamburg, and working at DESY … Continue reading

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