Steck, DanielThorn, Jeremy2012-10-262012-10-262012https://hdl.handle.net/1794/12474We present an all-optical one-way barrier for cold rubidium 87 atoms. Along with the basic theory on how the barrier works, we describe the experimental setup and demonstrate an actual realization of the barrier. Such a barrier appears at first glance to violate the second law of thermodynamics; we examine that law and show explicitly that it is not violated for a general class of one-way barriers including our particular realization. As our lab is going to continue on to a different set of experiments requiring very sensitive imaging techniques, we finish with the development and application of a theory for comparing electron-multiplying charge-coupled device (EMCCD) cameras.en-USAll Rights Reserved.Electronic Thesis or Dissertation