Researchers discover a new form of light
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Researchers discover a new form of light
by Chuck Bednar
In a breakthrough that has the potential to alter our understanding of the fundamental nature of light, scientists from the Trinity College Dublin School of Physics and the CRANN Institute in Ireland have discovered a never before seen new form of luminescence.
Previously, it was believed angular momentum, a vector quantity which expresses the amount of dynamical rotation present in a beam of light, would always be a multiple of Planck’s constant (a physical constant which sets the scale of quantum effects), regardless of the light’s form.
However, in a new paper published in a recent edition of the journal Science Advances, Trinity College PhD graduate Kyle Ballantine, Professor Paul Eastham and their colleagues reported that they had demonstrated a new type of light where the angular momentum of each particle takes on only half of this value – a small but profound difference, according to the study authors.
“We’re interested in finding out how we can change the way light behaves, and how that could be useful,” Eastham explained in a statement. “What I think is so exciting about this result is that even this fundamental property of light, that physicists have always thought was fixed, can be changed.”
Findings could result in new forms of quantization
Donegan, whose research focused on the field of light’s behavior at the nanometer scale (better known as nanophotonics), explained that a beam of light is characterized by its color, wavelength and angular momentum, which measures the degree to which something is rotating.
“For a beam of light, although travelling in a straight line it can also be rotating around its own axis. So when light from the mirror hits your eye in the morning, every photon twists your eye a little, one way or another,” he said. “Our discovery will have real impacts for the study of light waves in areas such as secure optical communications.”
The Trinity College-led team made their discovery using a 200-year-old technique which found that when a ray of light passed through certain crystals, it would become a hollow cylinder that could be used to generate beams with a screw-like structure. By analyzing the light beams using the theory of quantum mechanics, the researchers were able to predict that the these particles (or photons) would have a half-integer total angular momentum.
To test out that prediction, they came up with an experiment in which they used a specially made device to measure the flow of angular momentum in a beam of light. This also enabled them, for the first time, to measure the variations in this flow created by quantum effects, the study authors said in a statement. Their experiments revealed that a tiny shift, just one-half the size of Planck’s constant, in the angular momentum of each photon.
“We conclude that for light, as is known for electrons, reduced dimensionality allows new forms of quantization,” the authors wrote. Their findings confirm something that theoretical physicists have long suspected: that particles which are free to move in only two dimensions could result in unusual new possibilities, including the existence of particles with quantum numbers that are just a fraction of those that had been expected.
Read more at http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1113414126/new-type-of-light-051716/#1iGE6BCe6kil8r24.99
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Reblogged this on JOY TO THE WORLD.
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I have seen the Egyptian figures holding the lights a long time ago. I knew we would find what their light source was one day. Merging!
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Merging 🙂
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Would have to have much more info on their apparatus since observing light changes its state from wave to particle & vice verse. Maxwells demon has bitten more than one new axiom in half. How they observe their results without it coming into play would be interesting. imho
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@skimray…There is no intent for disrespect merely questioning… Isn’t particle to wave etc the quantum theory in the 3D universe? Anything might happen at a different area of the universe. Like I said, I am questioning and am an expert on nothing. Peace.
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@Michelle A, To observe anything requires some sort of energy transfer, which changes the object under observation. (Simple answer) No quantum mechanics on my earth was the movement of electrons from one energy level upon absorption/dis-absorption of a photon of a specific energy/frequency. Only those photons of a specific quantum of energy would or could be absorbed. Quantum Theory is a dynamic system of variables that define the behavior/reactions of said system. Like hydo-dynamics is a quantum system of equations that define the behavior of liquids under different values of temp, pressure, velocity, viscosity, Reynolds #,shape of containment or not, ect. Hope this helped. 🙂 😉
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Yes and thank you.
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@Michelle A, Left out part that it is orbital electrons I was speaking about. Gas cloud electrons (like in a radio aerial) can absorb a wide spectrum of photons 🙂
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umm there is an organic apparatus they could have used for the same observation and come into play its called dmt
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merging so true hatter, right there inside the mean, 300 days of dark the truth to be seen
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fade into you ❤ the real you<3 to ann.marie
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Latcho…sometimes…you.leave.me…speechless…<3
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Merging.sounds.good.to.me!…<3
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