Statistical physics a probabilistic examination of the underlying microscopic systems. Historically, one of the first topics in physics where statistical methods were applied was the field of mechanics, which is concerned with the motion of particles or objects when subjected to a force. Statistical mechanics provides a framework for relating the microscopic properties of individual atoms and molecules to the macroscopic or bulk properties of materials that can be observed in everyday life, therefore explaining thermodynamics as a natural result of statistics, classical mechanics, and quantum mechanics at the microscopic level. Because of this history, the statistical physics is often considered synonymous
Evaporative cooling (atomic physics) Evaporative cooling (atomic physics) Evaporative cooling is an atomic physics technique to achieve high phase space densities which optical cooling techniques typically can not reach. Atoms trapped in optical or magnetic traps are cooled as the trap depth is decreased and the hottest atoms (with the highest kinetic energy) leave the trap. The hot atoms leaving the trap are on the tail of the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution and therefore carry away a significant amount of kinetic energy, mitigating the loss of atoms by an overall increase in phase space density. The technique is analogous to cooling a hot cup of coffee