While the first observation of Bose-Einstein condensation was made in a magnetic atom trap using RF driven evaporative cooling, optical dipole traps are now much more common platforms for achieving condensation. Beginning in a MOT, cold, trapped atoms are transferred to the focal point of a high power, tightly focused, off-resonant laser beam. The electric field of the laser at its focus is sufficiently strong to induce dipole moments in the atoms, which are then attracted to the electric field maximum at the laser focus, effectively creating a trapping potential to hold them at the beam focus.