Bringing light to a halt
Quantum computers and ways to communicate information over long distances without fear of it being compromised by eavesdropping are two possibilties flowing from a new Harvard University university discovery.
Physicists there say they’ve brought light to a complete halt for a fraction of a second, differing from research results published in 2001 and 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," says an Associated Press report here.
Now, Harvard University researchers have now topped that by truly holding light and its energy in its tracks ? if only for a few hundred-thousandths of a second, says the report, quoting Harvard physicist Mikhail D. Lukin as saying, "We have succeeded in holding a light pulse still without taking all the energy away from it."
The AP report, derived from today’s Nature journal, continues, "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."
Wired’s take of the AP story is headlined:
‘How to Hold Moonbeam in Your Hand’
Nice : )
