Curiosity Daily

What Does Your Digital Body Language Say?

Episode Summary

Learn about “digital body language” guidelines and how scientists brought multiple molecules into the same quantum state. Additional resources from Erica Dhawan: Pick up "Digital Body Language: How to Build Trust & Connection No Matter the Distance" from your local bookstore: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781250246523  Website: https://ericadhawan.com/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/ericadhawan  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ericadhawan_/  Scientists brought multiple molecules into the same quantum state, which is a big deal by Briana Brownell UChicago scientists harness molecules into single quantum state. (2021). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-04/uoc-ush042221.php  ‌Ultracold Molecules | JILA - Exploring the Frontiers of Physics. (2015). Colorado.edu. https://jila.colorado.edu/yelabs/research/ultracold-molecules  ‌Cornish, S. (2008). From atoms to molecules (and back). Physics, 1. https://physics.aps.org/articles/v1/24  ‌Physicists Turn Atomic Bose-Einstein Condensate into Molecular One | Physics | Sci-News.com. (2021). Breaking Science News | Sci-News.com. http://www.sci-news.com/physics/molecular-bose-einstein-condensate-09606.html  ‌Carr, L. D., DeMille, D., Krems, R. V., & Ye, J. (2009). Cold and ultracold molecules: science, technology and applications. New Journal of Physics, 11(5), 055049. https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/11/5/055049  Bose-Einstein Condensate: A New Form of Matter. (2001, October 9). NIST. https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2001/10/bose-einstein-condensate-new-form-matter  Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to learn something new every day withCody Gough andAshley Hamer — for free! 

Episode Notes

Learn about “digital body language” guidelines and how scientists brought multiple molecules into the same quantum state.

Additional resources from Erica Dhawan:

Scientists brought multiple molecules into the same quantum state, which is a big deal by Briana Brownell

Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer — for free!


Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/what-does-your-digital-body-language-say

Episode Transcription

CODY: Hi! You’re about to get smarter in just a few minutes with Curiosity Daily from curiosity-dot-com. I’m Cody Gough.

ASHLEY: And I’m Ashley Hamer. Today, you’ll learn about “digital body language,” with leadership expert and author Erica Dhawan. You’ll also learn how scientists brought multiple molecules into the same quantum state — and why that’s a big deal.

CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.

Erica Dhawan (Cody)

For the past year, many office workers have had very little in-person interaction with their colleagues. And when you're exchanging all of your information over email, chat, or Zoom, it can be hard to get a sense of how they're feeling: was that message angry? Impatient? Relaxed? It's hard to tell. If you're struggling with sending and interpreting digital body language, today's guest can help. Erica Dhawan is a globally recognized leadership expert and the author of "Digital Body Language: How to Build Trust & Connection No Matter the Distance." And she's got some tips for how to keep the peace in digital communication.

[CLIP 6:13]

Yeah, those quick notes that say, "Hey, I'll get back to you on Thursday?" I mean...is there anything better? Again, that was Erica Dhawan, a globally recognized leadership expert and the author of "Digital Body Language: How to Build Trust & Connection No Matter the Distance." You can find a link to pick up the book in the show notes. 

Scientists brought multiple molecules into the same quantum state, which is a big deal (Ashley)

You probably know about most of the states of matter: there’s liquid, solid, gas, and the slightly fancier plasma. But you may not know about the fifth, which is way weirder: Bose-Einstein condensate. For the first time, scientists at the University of Chicago have wrangled molecules into this weird state of matter. These experiments give scientists a new way to probe the secrets of quantum chemistry.

The first thing to know about Bose-Einstein condensate is that it's pretty extreme: it exists at supercold temperatures and superlow densities. These extremes made it tough to create in the lab. Although it was predicted in 1924, it wasn’t until 1995 that Bose-Einstein condensate was first created.

To produce it, scientists cool materials to superlow temperatures by reducing the pressure, which makes them “condense.”  That’s where it gets weird: instead of an assortment of atoms that each behave as individuals, in Bose-Einstein condensate, every atom has identical properties... and their behavior is identical too. 

Imagine a group of square dancers. They all move the same way at the same time. Bose-Einstein condensate behaves like a group of tiny spherical square dancers.

Thanks to the coordinated way they move, microscopic properties of Bose-Einstein condensate are amplified to the macroscopic level. This boost gives scientists a way to take ultraprecise measurements. 

Now imagine that instead of dancing as individuals, the dancers are paired off. Rather than just moving left and right, forward and back as individuals, they have lots of new dance moves they can try. The pairs can spin together or shimmy and sway in tandem.

Like the dancers, Bose-Einstein Condensate molecules have a whole bunch of new ways they can move. They can even behave like tiny magnets, and a lattice of these tiny magnets could be used for quantum information processing.  

That’s why this experiment is such a breakthrough: scientists have wrangled molecules, not just atoms, into this strange state of matter. 

They started with Bose-Einstein condensate of about 60 thousand cesium atoms. Then, to get the cesium atoms to get into the right positions, they used what’s called a dipole trap to confine them to a disc-shaped layer. Finally, a pulse of energy paired them up into molecules.

If we shrunk ourselves to watch our Bose-Einstein condensate dancers, it would be quite the party.  We’d see a single round room with 60 thousand individual square dancers, where the walls were made out of blue laser light. That light is what traps the atomic dancers on the dance floor. Then, a pulse of energy encourages them to pair off to form molecules. The atoms that aren’t paired up get shooed away, so only pairs are left on the dance floor. There you have it: Bose-Einstein condensate molecules.

Thanks to these experiments, scientists have a new way to test theories about the fundamental laws of physics, and can make new discoveries about chemistry at the quantum level. Definitely a development worth dancing about.

RECAP

Let’s do a quick recap of what we learned today

  1. CODY: When it comes to “digital body language,” make sure that the subject line of your email is crystal clear, because it’s like an in-person first impression. Make sure your emails contain expectations, like due dates, and use bullet points and formatting to keep things short and sweet. And let people know if they don’t need to respond right away — or at all! Nobody likes having extra stress in their life.
  2. ASHLEY: Also be mindful of when you use exclamation marks and caps lock. And be mindful that research shows that women feel more pressure to use multiple exclamation points. Weird, right? You can think of emoji as digital facial expressions, but it’s probably best to use them with people after you’ve established some level of trust. And be extra careful when using them with international contacts, since they can mean wildly different things.
    1. CODY: kk
  3. CODY: Researchers wrangled MOLECULES into Bose-Einstein condensate. This gives researchers a new way to test theories about the fundamental laws of physics, and can make new discoveries about chemistry at the quantum level. NBD

[ad lib optional] 

ASHLEY: The writer for today’s last story was Briana Brownell.

CODY: Our managing editor is Ashley Hamer, who was also an audio editor on today’s episode]

ASHLEY: Our producer and lead audio editor is Cody Gough.

CODY: [AD LIB SOMETHING FUNNY] Join us again tomorrow to learn something new in just a few minutes.

ASHLEY: And until then, stay curious!