Optical Tweezers: Basics and Applications

This lecture covers the basics of optical tweezers, including the principles of ray optics, wave optics, and the use of beams and cavities. It also delves into the application of optical tweezers in microscopy, manipulation, and spectroscopy. The lecture further explores the interaction of X-rays with matter, diffraction, imaging, and spectroscopy. The instructor emphasizes the importance of understanding the wave description of light and Maxwell's equations in dielectric media, leading to a discussion on the alignment of molecules using laser pulses. The lecture concludes with experimental setups for optical tweezers and Coulomb explosion imaging, showcasing data examples of ion images recorded under different conditions.