This laser has just surpassed the speed of light: It came out of a box before it went in and broke the universe’s laws

 

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For over a century, physicists have acted according to the postulate that no object in the universe could travel faster than light, an integral part of space-time structure. Light year, or a velocity, is 300,000,000 meters per second, a universal constant on which current physics is based. More recently, with lasers and plasma, our conventional ideas have been turned on their head, or put, light pulses seem to violate this rule of the universe. You might think it’s just a science fiction movie, but still, these experiments are conducted strictly according to the laws of physics to prepare the ground for breakthrough technologies, ecoticias.com.

Physicists discovered how to manipulate light waves to travel faster than expected using plasma

The core of this discovery is group velocity, which is the rate at which groups of light waves travel through a given material. In general, light waves in a vacuum had an invariable velocity according to the speed of light. Nevertheless, these waves can be slowed when they traverse different materials or accelerate to something beyond average light speed – quite mind-boggling!

This is what physicists from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the University of Rochester have done using plasma, a hot stream of ionized particles. They used one laser to knock off electrons from hydrogen and helium ions and then changed the scenario of the second laser passing through the plasma. The result? To achieve this, the group velocity of the light pulses was controlled to be above 30 percent of the speed of light in a vacuum. Although the individual photons in the light pulse behave as described by the laws of physics, the wave moved faster than permitted.

To explain this, drawing a clear line between the photon as a particle and the wave of light it combines with is necessary. Individual photons, in itself, cannot violate the speed limit prescribed by the laws of electromagnetism. What controls it is the link between the electric and magnetic fields. However, when photons are gathered, they make a kind of wave known as a wave packet in physics — a wave of waves. The velocity of this packet can be affected by the forces existing in the surrounding medium and electromagnetic forces.

This new laser technology could revolutionize industries: A game changer for laser-based systems

It’s not going to let us zip off half the universe in a spacecraft any time soon, but this research could transform technologies in our backyard. The first and most apparent recipients are advanced laser systems. Most high-energy lasers are based on solid-state optical material that can be permanently damaged by high power. Plasma-based lasers may be a revolutionary option for developing space-based lasers.

Plasma as an amplifying media is less destructive to typical materials under high energy, thereby creating insanely powerful lasers. This is indeed important for applications in particle accelerators, in which the aim is to reply to particles to record velocities, as well as developments in nuclear fusion, in which lasers are involved in triggering and managing fusion procedures. In short, by controlling light pulses with plasma, we may create better, higher-energy lasers for scientific and industrial applications.

Even though this laser manipulation is fantastic, it should be realized that this study does not transgress the laws of the physical universe. During this process, no photons were either damaged or sent off to the superluminal velocities. The physicists accomplished something even more subtle: they learned how to trick light waves into behaving in specific ways. It is not precisely a time machine or warp drive, but it somehow breaks barriers in comprehending light.

Beyond just lasers: How this breakthrough might shape future technologies in ways we can’t yet imagine

What does this say about the future? The implications of such findings could be seen in various other areas ranging from computer science, specifically quantum, to telecommunications and radiology. For example, plasma-based lasers could improve the specificity of vision-enhancing devices by making medical diagnostics through imaging a reality. To telecommunications experts, faster light pulses equals more rapid data transfer, and the dream of global telecommunication is within grasp.

Finally, even though we’re not going to be zooming off to Proxima Centauri any time soon, there are many applications of this research beyond lasers. That one reveals how we as people perceive time, speed and even forces of nature as a whole. With the current knowledge and discoveries in the relations of light and plasma, more scientific revolutions in the field can only be anticipated. The opportunity for a new class of technologies is inviting, and what is beyond that is only as far as the imagination can stretch.