Scientist converts light into matter, then back into light

[cmdridq]

This is pretty amazing. Einstein and all the other heavyweight physicists always thought the speed of light was constant. But this prof at Harvard has figured out how to slow it down to a stop, convert it into matter, convert it back into light, and then speed it back up to its normal velocity. This creates all sorts of possibilities:

"A weird thing happens to the light as it enters the cold atomic cloud, called a Bose-Einstein condensate. It becomes squeezed into a space 50 million times smaller. Imagine a light beam 3,200 feet (one kilometer) long, loaded with information, that now is only a hair width in length but still encodes as much information.

From there it becomes easier to imagine new types of computers and communications systems - smaller, faster, more reliable, and tamper-proof."

http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2007/02.08/99-hau.html

[sheltie dave]

Einstein was aware that light retained properties that acted as particle matter, and wave matter. His E = mc2 equation referenced the fact that energy, mass, and speed were interdependant and supported his conservation of matter theory.

This prof is not turning light photons into matter- she seems to be condensing matter, tagging it with a laser, roadmapping it while isolated, and then retagging it and roadmapping a second collection pool it has been persuaded to visit.

The light into matter deal would result in a huge exothermic release of energy, and the matter into more matter would be even larger(fusion.) This process looks like a persuasion to take on easier to identify subatomic matter properties, ie spin, charm, and sex. If they start spending lots of money, then the particles have become female!

[Fish]

Well.....dave took my answer,lol.I'll only add I hope this helps keep the site up in the future.

[Guest " "]

"This is pretty amazing. Einstein and all the other heavyweight physicists always thought the speed of light was constant. But this prof at Harvard has figured out how to slow it down to a stop, convert it into matter, convert it back into light, and then speed it back up to its normal velocity. This creates all sorts of possibilities:"

Looks like the star trek transporter device will be on the shelves by next christmas. Looks like the area 57 get together with our friends from the cosmos paid off after all.

[pauln]

Since the article is written at about a 3rd grade level it (like almost all current "science" reporting for the public) does not explain the phenomenon nor the experimental design nor the measurement methodology sufficiently to make any real heads or tails of what is claimed. What is claimed as written has too little substance for which a thinking person versed in physics may evaluate the claim. I despise this kind of dumbed down science reporting.

"Then Hau and her assistants guided that fingerprint into a second clump of cold atoms." Apart from using the fingerprint analogy (which is no different here than saying it's like magic), it is not clear at all if the implication is that the two clouds were or were not ever in conjuction.

"...the clumps were not touching and no light passed between them." Were not touching (past tense) meaning that during the "fingerprint" movement, they where? I also question the assertion that no light passed between them - in modern physics a photon goes everywhere (literally) unless and until it is measured.

"The two atom clouds were separated and had never seen each other before." Before when, before they did see each other? So the two clumps did ultimately conjoin? Did they utilize light to see each other?

Light travels at constant velocity in vacuum. Through glass it slows down, through water it slows down, though a clump of cold atoms it slows down. None of these substances is what I would call "free space", so this does not violate anything interesting or cause scientists to freak out.

"For the first time in history, this gives science a way to control light with matter and vice versa." Possibly the dumbest line in the article. The author may be a "science" writer that has never heard of the Edison Effect (aka Photoelectric Effect), but surely the author has had some thoughtful experience with using a mirror (matter to control light) or thought about the operation of their own eyes (light to control matter)?

[DrWho]

I've got a few friends on campus working on their PhD's studying many of the same effects...I don't quite understand it all, but it's cool stuff. One of the hopeful applications will be using light for transmitting signals in CPU's instead of using wires - which means higher clock rates and less heat.

[jacksonbart]

That proves it, CDs are better than LPs.

[Jay481985]

I've got a few friends on campus working on their PhD's studying many of the same effects...I don't quite understand it all, but it's cool stuff. One of the hopeful applications will be using light for transmitting signals in CPU's instead of using wires - which means higher clock rates and less heat.

i've done some stuff along the lines too..... loosely but somewhat where it is possible to make a 1 terabyte cpu at the start, only limited ultimately by the bending of light

[Jay481985]

Since the article is written at about a 3rd grade level it (like almost all current "science" reporting for the public) does not explain the phenomenon nor the experimental design nor the measurement methodology sufficiently to make any real heads or tails of what is claimed. What is claimed as written has too little substance for which a thinking person versed in physics may evaluate the claim. I despise this kind of dumbed down science reporting.

"Then Hau and her assistants guided that fingerprint into a second clump of cold atoms." Apart from using the fingerprint analogy (which is no different here than saying it's like magic), it is not clear at all if the implication is that the two clouds were or were not ever in conjuction.

"...the clumps were not touching and no light passed between them." Were not touching (past tense) meaning that during the "fingerprint" movement, they where? I also question the assertion that no light passed between them - in modern physics a photon goes everywhere (literally) unless and until it is measured.

"The two atom clouds were separated and had never seen each other before." Before when, before they did see each other? So the two clumps did ultimately conjoin? Did they utilize light to see each other?

Light travels at constant velocity in vacuum. Through glass it slows down, through water it slows down, though a clump of cold atoms it slows down. None of these substances is what I would call "free space", so this does not violate anything interesting or cause scientists to freak out.

"For the first time in history, this gives science a way to control light with matter and vice versa." Possibly the dumbest line in the article. The author may be a "science" writer that has never heard of the Edison Effect (aka Photoelectric Effect), but surely the author has had some thoughtful experience with using a mirror (matter to control light) or thought about the operation of their own eyes (light to control matter)?

Problem is if you start talking like a scientist you disuade any interest. Like trying to understand medical talk if you are not in the profession. by the bose-einstein condensor is a really really cold place. Like 1/10000 of a degree from absolute 0 but one thing that is strange is space is nearly close to that temperature and yet light does not slow down. I wonder how much of a temperature decrease you need to slow light down. Also slowing light down is not technically a new thing.... Diamonds do the same thing []