Topic: Light? Light? Who held up the light? (Read 2923 times)

Toasty0 · « **on:** December 12, 2003, 09:50:42 pm »

"(AP) -- Physicists say they have brought light to a complete halt for a fraction of a second and then sent it on its way, an achievement that could someday help scientists develop powerful new computers.

The research differs from work published in 2001 that was hailed at the time as having brought light to standstill.

In that work, light pulses were technically "stored" briefly when individual particles of light, or photons, were taken up by atoms in a gas.

Harvard University researchers have now topped that feat by truly holding light and its energy in its tracks -- if only for a few hundred-thousandths of a second.

"We have succeeded in holding a light pulse still without taking all the energy away from it," said Mikhail D. Lukin, a Harvard physicist.

Harnessing light particles to store and process data could aid the still distant goal of so-called quantum computers, as well as methods for communicating information over long distances without risk of eavesdropping.

The research may also have applications for improving conventional fiber-optic communications and data processing techniques that use light as an information carrier. Lukin said the present research is just another step toward efforts to control light, but said additional work is needed to determine if it can aid these applications.

The findings appear in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature.

Stanford University physicist Stephen Harris said the new research is promising and represents an important scientific first.

Matthew Bigelow, a scientist at the University of Rochester involved in light research, called the new study "very clever" and something that may ultimately spur the development of superior light-based computers.

"I think it's moving us in the right direction," he said.

"

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/ptech/12/11/frozenlight.advance.ap/index.html

This isn't just something that rocks for the future of computing, imh-and-not-so-well-educated-opine. I may be misstaken here, but this looks like a very important baby step in trans-light speen travel.

Best,
Jerry

Maxillius · « **Reply #1 on:** December 13, 2003, 12:18:18 am »

Interesting... If you can't *ever* travel faster than the speed of light, what happens when you slow down light to a stand still? Your car becomes a starship! Could that be how a space warp works??

Corbomite · « **Reply #2 on:** December 13, 2003, 12:55:18 am »

Quote:

Interesting... If you can't *ever* travel faster than the speed of light, what happens when you slow down light to a stand still? Your car becomes a starship! Could that be how a space warp works??

Theoretically it disipates into heat, but if not held for too long it would continue on it's merry way. I am a bit skeptical of this. They need to make sure of their finding, i.e did the light really stop or play a quantum trick on them?

Stormbringer · « **Reply #3 on:** December 13, 2003, 04:37:22 am »

Not too surprising the speed of light is actually different in different media. Further there is evidence that the speed of light has differed over cosmic time scales. Further still gravity can effect light travel time and even bend it's path. In the end the speed of light may be more like the old speed of sound barrier than it commonly appears. Yes I'm aware of the inertial mass increase associated with acceleration and the reqirement of ever increasing energy to get more gains in velocity as a result leading to infinite energy needed to move even the smallest mass through the light speed point. It may not be as big a barrier as it certainly seems. There are any number of theoretical loop holes to get beyond it. However as this article applies to fully optical computers (The target application here) there is a need to create light analogs to all the standard logic circuits and storage. This is definitely a huge breakthrough on that front.

EmeraldEdge · « **Reply #4 on:** December 13, 2003, 04:46:14 am »

I agree with that. The soundbarrier was unbreakable until someone broke it. It's just a matter of figuring out the way in which to do it, imo. I personally don't like to place such hard limits on what's possible and impossible, but some things certainly seem implausible. This is certainly interesting.

Toasty0 · « **Reply #6 on:** December 12, 2003, 09:50:42 pm »

"(AP) -- Physicists say they have brought light to a complete halt for a fraction of a second and then sent it on its way, an achievement that could someday help scientists develop powerful new computers.

The research differs from work published in 2001 that was hailed at the time as having brought light to standstill.

In that work, light pulses were technically "stored" briefly when individual particles of light, or photons, were taken up by atoms in a gas.

Harvard University researchers have now topped that feat by truly holding light and its energy in its tracks -- if only for a few hundred-thousandths of a second.

"We have succeeded in holding a light pulse still without taking all the energy away from it," said Mikhail D. Lukin, a Harvard physicist.

Harnessing light particles to store and process data could aid the still distant goal of so-called quantum computers, as well as methods for communicating information over long distances without risk of eavesdropping.

The research may also have applications for improving conventional fiber-optic communications and data processing techniques that use light as an information carrier. Lukin said the present research is just another step toward efforts to control light, but said additional work is needed to determine if it can aid these applications.

The findings appear in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature.

Stanford University physicist Stephen Harris said the new research is promising and represents an important scientific first.

Matthew Bigelow, a scientist at the University of Rochester involved in light research, called the new study "very clever" and something that may ultimately spur the development of superior light-based computers.

"I think it's moving us in the right direction," he said.

"

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/ptech/12/11/frozenlight.advance.ap/index.html

This isn't just something that rocks for the future of computing, imh-and-not-so-well-educated-opine. I may be misstaken here, but this looks like a very important baby step in trans-light speen travel.

Best,
Jerry

Maxillius · « **Reply #7 on:** December 13, 2003, 12:18:18 am »

Interesting... If you can't *ever* travel faster than the speed of light, what happens when you slow down light to a stand still? Your car becomes a starship! Could that be how a space warp works??

Stormbringer · « **Reply #9 on:** December 13, 2003, 04:37:22 am »

Not too surprising the speed of light is actually different in different media. Further there is evidence that the speed of light has differed over cosmic time scales. Further still gravity can effect light travel time and even bend it's path. In the end the speed of light may be more like the old speed of sound barrier than it commonly appears. Yes I'm aware of the inertial mass increase associated with acceleration and the reqirement of ever increasing energy to get more gains in velocity as a result leading to infinite energy needed to move even the smallest mass through the light speed point. It may not be as big a barrier as it certainly seems. There are any number of theoretical loop holes to get beyond it. However as this article applies to fully optical computers (The target application here) there is a need to create light analogs to all the standard logic circuits and storage. This is definitely a huge breakthrough on that front.

EmeraldEdge · « **Reply #10 on:** December 13, 2003, 04:46:14 am »

I agree with that. The soundbarrier was unbreakable until someone broke it. It's just a matter of figuring out the way in which to do it, imo. I personally don't like to place such hard limits on what's possible and impossible, but some things certainly seem implausible. This is certainly interesting.

Toasty0 · « **Reply #12 on:** December 12, 2003, 09:50:42 pm »

"(AP) -- Physicists say they have brought light to a complete halt for a fraction of a second and then sent it on its way, an achievement that could someday help scientists develop powerful new computers.

The research differs from work published in 2001 that was hailed at the time as having brought light to standstill.

In that work, light pulses were technically "stored" briefly when individual particles of light, or photons, were taken up by atoms in a gas.

Harvard University researchers have now topped that feat by truly holding light and its energy in its tracks -- if only for a few hundred-thousandths of a second.

"We have succeeded in holding a light pulse still without taking all the energy away from it," said Mikhail D. Lukin, a Harvard physicist.

Harnessing light particles to store and process data could aid the still distant goal of so-called quantum computers, as well as methods for communicating information over long distances without risk of eavesdropping.

The research may also have applications for improving conventional fiber-optic communications and data processing techniques that use light as an information carrier. Lukin said the present research is just another step toward efforts to control light, but said additional work is needed to determine if it can aid these applications.

The findings appear in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature.

Stanford University physicist Stephen Harris said the new research is promising and represents an important scientific first.

Matthew Bigelow, a scientist at the University of Rochester involved in light research, called the new study "very clever" and something that may ultimately spur the development of superior light-based computers.

"I think it's moving us in the right direction," he said.

"

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/ptech/12/11/frozenlight.advance.ap/index.html

This isn't just something that rocks for the future of computing, imh-and-not-so-well-educated-opine. I may be misstaken here, but this looks like a very important baby step in trans-light speen travel.

Best,
Jerry

Maxillius · « **Reply #13 on:** December 13, 2003, 12:18:18 am »

Interesting... If you can't *ever* travel faster than the speed of light, what happens when you slow down light to a stand still? Your car becomes a starship! Could that be how a space warp works??

Stormbringer · « **Reply #15 on:** December 13, 2003, 04:37:22 am »

Not too surprising the speed of light is actually different in different media. Further there is evidence that the speed of light has differed over cosmic time scales. Further still gravity can effect light travel time and even bend it's path. In the end the speed of light may be more like the old speed of sound barrier than it commonly appears. Yes I'm aware of the inertial mass increase associated with acceleration and the reqirement of ever increasing energy to get more gains in velocity as a result leading to infinite energy needed to move even the smallest mass through the light speed point. It may not be as big a barrier as it certainly seems. There are any number of theoretical loop holes to get beyond it. However as this article applies to fully optical computers (The target application here) there is a need to create light analogs to all the standard logic circuits and storage. This is definitely a huge breakthrough on that front.

EmeraldEdge · « **Reply #16 on:** December 13, 2003, 04:46:14 am »

I agree with that. The soundbarrier was unbreakable until someone broke it. It's just a matter of figuring out the way in which to do it, imo. I personally don't like to place such hard limits on what's possible and impossible, but some things certainly seem implausible. This is certainly interesting.

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Re: Light? Light? Who held up the light?

Corbomite

Re: Light? Light? Who held up the light?

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Re: Light? Light? Who held up the light?

Corbomite

Re: Light? Light? Who held up the light?

dab_leader

Re: Light? Light? Who held up the light?

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