The atomic temperature can be measured using the time of flight (ToF) technique. In this technique, the laser beams are suddenly turned off and the atomic ensemble is allowed to expand. After a set time delay t, a probe beam is turned on to image the ensemble and obtain the spatial extent of the ensemble at time t. By imaging the ensemble at several time delays, the rate of expansion is found. By measuring the rate of expansion of the ensemble the velocity distribution is measured and from this, the temperature is inferred.