Scientists Stop Light in 'Trapped Rainbow'

www.livescience.com...

Scientists have worked out how to bring beams of light to a screeching halt inside a material that would separate the light into its constituent colors, creating a rainbow—a trapped rainbow.

Wow This is pretty cool. Although still in the theoretical stage I believe it would be wise to keep an eye on this and see how it may be used in the future, like was stated in the article about giving the Internet a higher information capacity. Not to mention the next big storage device.

I'm not saying it will happen, I'm just saying keep am eye on it.

Cool.

If light could be stopped, you can't see anything at all as no reflected light will be communicated through your eyes. You can be cloaked this way.

Nice.

Originally posted by amitheone
Cool.

If light could be stopped, you can't see anything at all as no reflected light will be communicated through your eyes. You can be cloaked this way.

Totally!! That is so cool, they mention that in the article.

The negative refractive index of metamaterials (created by arranging tiny metallic inclusions in a transparent material) causes the light to bend somewhat back on itself and in such a way that "it gets slower and slower and eventually stops," Hess explained. (These same materials have been used to create an "invisibility cloak.")

Try reading it next time. Kidding! kleverone is

Originally posted by amitheone
Cool.

If light could be stopped, you can't see anything at all as no reflected light will be communicated through your eyes. You can be cloaked this way.

Nice.

Granted, light wouldn't reflect back but wouldn't it create an immense contrast (with its surroundings) instead? You'd see a black shape which would be really noticeable in lit areas.

Granted, light wouldn't reflect back but wouldn't it create an immense contrast (with its surroundings) instead? You'd see a black shape which would be really noticeable in lit areas.


Sign me up for one of those! Being a shapless black shadow is almost as cool as being predator invisible!!


Seriously though, very interesting reading!

Sweeeet

Now excuse me for saying but............

Can we have our light sabers yet????

Pretty please, I promise to be careful.

Originally posted by IMAdamnALIEN
Sweeeet

Now excuse me for saying but............

Can we have our light sabers yet????

Pretty please, I promise to be careful.

Actually... wouldn't they be dark sabers? Stop the light from moving and it won't travel to your eyes.

Originally posted by koenw

Originally posted by amitheone
Cool.

If light could be stopped, you can't see anything at all as no reflected light will be communicated through your eyes. You can be cloaked this way.

Nice.

Granted, light wouldn't reflect back but wouldn't it create an immense contrast (with its surroundings) instead? You'd see a black shape which would be really noticeable in lit areas.

That was my first thought. White is all colors of light reflected. Black is all colors of light absorbed. If light was to slow down to 1cm/second and you are 1m away, it would take 100 seconds for that light to reach your eyes whether it is black or white. Before it reaches your eyes, you won't see anything at all, but only your original surroundings.

For example a pencil. If it was made of that material which can slow down light to, say 1cm/second, it would take 100 seconds later in order for your eyes to actually see the pencil. There's a lag. However, you can actually hold the pencil if you know where its placed, but you can't see it yet.

We can actually observe this. Light from the Sun takes 8mins to reach Earth. If there was a solar flare, we would only know 8mins later. When it reaches us, it is already in the past - 8mins ago.


[edit on 15-11-2007 by amitheone]

I don't understand. If we froze light how would we know it was still there? There would be no reflection because no photons would be emitted. Are we freezing the photons or the frequency? Would this be the equivelent of so called dark matter?

[edit on 16-11-2007 by LastOutfiniteVoiceEternal]

Originally posted by amitheone

That was my first thought. White is all colors of light reflected. Black is all colors of light absorbed. If light was to slow down to 1cm/second and you are 1m away, it would take 100 seconds for that light to reach your eyes whether it is black or white. Before it reaches your eyes, you won't see anything at all, but only your original surroundings.

For example a pencil. If it was made of that material which can slow down light to, say 1cm/second, it would take 100 seconds later in order for your eyes to actually see the pencil. There's a lag. However, you can actually hold the pencil if you know where its placed, but you can't see it yet.

We can actually observe this. Light from the Sun takes 8mins to reach Earth. If there was a solar flare, we would only know 8mins later. When it reaches us, it is already in the past - 8mins ago.

No..., you'd still see a black void.
The object that would have been equipped with an ability to slow down photons would not allow the photons of its evironment to travel through it.

For example: you take a box, coated with the materials to slow down light and you put the box inside a room.
The photons bouncing off the box would indeed travel at 1cm /s but the photons boucing of the walls behind the box (still travelling at 300 000km/s) would be stopped by the box thus creating a black void, which would be easily visible (due to contrast).

This also applies to your solar flare example. seeing as there is nothing faster than the light travelling from the sun it's impossible to create a contrast of the flare with its surroundings.
We would infact be able to detect the solar flare in advance if there was something that would travel faster than light.

[edit on 17-11-2007 by koenw]

the negative refraction,slowing of photons in the meta material would release energy in the metamaterial,causing heat.

a new heat solar heat source?.

with the right configuration of mirrors and such,an enormous amount of photons could be directed and caught in the spiral....

......ive always wanted to steal the sunlight!!




[edit on 19-11-2007 by welivefortheson]

[edit on 19-11-2007 by welivefortheson]