The chapter discusses the optical dipole potential and its applications in trapping neutral atoms. The optical dipole force, arising from the interaction between an induced atomic dipole and a far-detuned laser field, is introduced and analyzed. The potential energy and scattering rate are derived, showing that the dipole potential scales with the intensity and the detuning, while the scattering rate scales with the intensity and the square of the detuning. Multi-level atoms, particularly alkali atoms, are considered, and their ground-state light shifts and optical potentials are discussed. The chapter also covers experimental issues such as cooling methods (Doppler cooling, polarization-gradient cooling, Raman cooling, resolved-sideband Raman cooling, and evaporative cooling) and heating mechanisms (spontaneous scattering and technical instabilities). The heating rate in a dipole trap is derived, highlighting the differences between red-detuned and blue-detuned traps.The chapter discusses the optical dipole potential and its applications in trapping neutral atoms. The optical dipole force, arising from the interaction between an induced atomic dipole and a far-detuned laser field, is introduced and analyzed. The potential energy and scattering rate are derived, showing that the dipole potential scales with the intensity and the detuning, while the scattering rate scales with the intensity and the square of the detuning. Multi-level atoms, particularly alkali atoms, are considered, and their ground-state light shifts and optical potentials are discussed. The chapter also covers experimental issues such as cooling methods (Doppler cooling, polarization-gradient cooling, Raman cooling, resolved-sideband Raman cooling, and evaporative cooling) and heating mechanisms (spontaneous scattering and technical instabilities). The heating rate in a dipole trap is derived, highlighting the differences between red-detuned and blue-detuned traps.