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Light stopped cold for one minute, then restarted!

  • Thread starter Thread starter ElmoFUD
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The Extreme Tech web site has published information about some recent German research here:

Light stopped completely for a minute inside a crystal: The basis of quantum memory | ExtremeTech

Many folks just cannot visualize science so advanced it seems like magic (and possibly brings beings here from light years away, etc.). The meme is perhaps the notion that, except for a few details, we pretty much know how things work. Research like this highlights the fallacy and hubris of that notion. I have always felt that in reality, we probably have no idea and may be limited only by our imagination in framing questions--on levels from quantum to cosmic and in between.
 
I don't have time to read the article right now but, this reminded me of something I saw about supercooling particles to near-absolute zero temperatures. Certain particles sufficiently cooled can apparently create something called 'Bose-Einstien Condensate'-- in which lots of laws are skewed/altered. The aspect which reminded me of your post is that when you shine a beam of light through the condensate; it slows down to like, a few miles per hour, then reverts back to light speed instantly when it penetrates (zero acceleration UFO tech tie-in?) Anyway, I will read this when I get home.

*UPDATE* So, it turns out I did have time to read it. Really incredible!
 
Interesting, but light was not stopped, as the writer claims. It was first 'converted' to electrons that got excited by the light photons, then it was 'converted' back to light in the end. The photons entering and exiting were not physically the same, so the article is poorly written and sensationalistic imo.
 
Good one Jimi ... You've got keen reflexes :) ! All they've done is created another memory storage device. Technically, if that counts as "stopping light", then we could hook up our PC to a digital optical cable, and store the bitstream on a CD, HDD or other memory storage device for years, and claim to have "stopped light for years". Apart from that, it's still an interesting tidbit of science though.
 
ufology said:
.. All they've done is created another memory storage device. ...
Click to expand...
Exactly! By using the quantum state (the direction of the spin, which is caused by the incoming light photons) as 'memory'.

It kinda reminds me of glorified glow-in-the-dark :)
 
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