Scientists Slow Down and Steer Light With Resonant Nanoantennas (phys.org) 21
New submitter HotSyncer shares a report from Phys.Org: [I]n a paper published on Aug. 17, in Nature Nanotechnology, Stanford scientists demonstrate a new approach to slow light significantly, much like an echo chamber holds onto sound, and to direct it at will. Researchers in the lab of Jennifer Dionne, associate professor of materials science and engineering at Stanford, structured ultrathin silicon chips into nanoscale bars to resonantly trap light and then release or redirect it later. These "high-quality-factor" or "high-Q" resonators could lead to novel ways of manipulating and using light, including new applications for quantum computing, virtual reality and augmented reality; light-based WiFi; and even the detection of viruses like SARS-CoV-2.
"We're essentially trying to trap light in a tiny box that still allows the light to come and go from many different directions," said postdoctoral fellow Mark Lawrence, who is also lead author of the paper. "It's easy to trap light in a box with many sides, but not so easy if the sides are transparent -- as is the case with many Silicon-based applications."
"We're essentially trying to trap light in a tiny box that still allows the light to come and go from many different directions," said postdoctoral fellow Mark Lawrence, who is also lead author of the paper. "It's easy to trap light in a box with many sides, but not so easy if the sides are transparent -- as is the case with many Silicon-based applications."
Quantum Inertia (Score:3)
I wonder if this can be harnessed in a definitive proof of Prof. McCulloch's Quantum Inertia.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
No, this has nothing to do with inertia, quantum or otherwise. Are you trying to shill for a debunked theory by randomly bringing it up? Sad news, Pioneer's acceleration explained by normal physics, and resonant cavity thrusters don't put out.
Few people know this but (Score:3)
this is how Harry Potter wands work.
But as for slowing light down, we have that. It's called co-ax cable. In fact most people would prefer their computer busses went faster not slower.
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The desired application is the storage and release of specific frequencies of light ie data storage far greater than off and on, or high and low energy state, how many different measurable frequencies of light can be stored in the one nano structure, a light transistor capable of storing at least ten possible one hundred discernable different frequencies of light, to be checked and to be released.
Re: Few people know this but (Score:2)
So data storage, and what else? Displays?
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Latches are used to represent IF statements in programming for example that don't have an ELSE branch. In those cases they hold the state that was given to them until their condition is fulfilled after which they pass it on.
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Bandwidth, which will be a hard limiting factor for transfer rates, and round trip, which is a hard limiting factor for the ping, are often con
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Well yes, technically a mini-van full of micro-sd cards has more bandwidth than my computer's buss.
Re: Few people know this but (Score:2)
There's latency and there's bandwidth, as you said.
Latency is usually measured NIC to NIC (ping-pong time), which is what you want for network performance but it isn't much use for users as the stack may be less efficient.
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Still, I've encountered these issues where people don't exactly know but can be still quite adamant often enough.
I was about to write an anecdote, but in retrospect this is probably the wrong place.
*Here I wonder if we'll ever get fibre optics that are based on a different core material that has a lower index of refraction than the 1.44 something we use today.
Not really slowing light down (Score:2)
Re: Not really slowing light down (Score:2)
Well, the velocity includes direction and you've certainly reversed direction.
Resonant antnnas and reverberation (Score:1)
Is this actually using what an RF designer would call antennas? Like dipoles of a certain resonant length. I think it is some kind of fancy molecular structure, which has elements in it that behave a bit like antenna elements. As for slowing light down, I agree that the effect is probably like acoustic reverberation, where the speed of propagation is not altered, but a change takes a while to build up or die away. This is why so many hymn tunes meant to be sung in big reverberant churches are slow in tempo.
Light-based WiFi (Score:3)
In opposition to... what? invisible-gnome-telepathy-based WiFi?
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In opposition to... what? invisible-gnome-telepathy-based WiFi?
That explains so many things about my router operation! 'Scuse me, I'll be spreading flour around the house to detect the gnomes. Actually, I'm out of flour, so I'll have to use salt. Should I be looking for tiny footprints, or do they eat salt? How do I identify a gnome tongue-print?
Invisible gnomes make so much sense! I've known gnomish engineers in Azeroth and, let me tell you, their inventions are ingenious and often explosive, so read the fine print on their devices with extreme caution.
That's one way to achieve faster-than-light travel (Score:1)
I for one welcome.. (Score:1)
Stop saying something "slows down" light. (Score:2)
That is literally as impossible as us going at the speed of light.
It makes more sense to think of it as s song on a turntable, quickly scratched back and forth, while at the same time moving a tiny bit forward each time, so it sounds like the song is slower.
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The "light speed" constant is based on the speed of light in a vacuum with no interruptions. Toss a black hole in the way, just for giggles, and "see" how that works out. Do this from an incredibly long distance away and let us know the results.