Physicists Found Something That Can Move Faster Than Light: The Darkness Inside It
For the first time, physicists have observed that ‘holes’ in light can travel faster than light itself.
They are known as phase singularities or optical vorticesAnd since the 1970sScientists predict that just as eddies in a river can move faster than the water flowing around them, eddies in a light wave can move faster than the light in which they are embedded.
This does not break relativity, which means nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. This is because vortices carry no mass, energy, or information, and their motion is based on the evolving geometry of the wave pattern rather than any physical motion in space.
But capturing this phenomenon in action has been difficult because it occurs on extremely small scales of space and time. This achievement is a triumph of the electron microscope.
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“Our discovery reveals universal laws of nature shared by all types of waves, from sound waves and fluid flows to complex systems such as superconductors.” Ido Kaminer saysPhysicist at Technion Israel Institute of Technology.
“This breakthrough provides us with a powerful technological tool: The ability to map the motion of precise nanoscale events in materials is revealed by a new method (electron interferometry) that increases image sharpness.”
Although the light appears uniform to our eyes, there are many events that we cannot easily notice. Light can undergo distortions similar to those seen in other systems dominated by flow dynamics, including a type of phase singularity that scientists call optical vortices.
Light can act as both a particle and a wave; An optical vortex is formed when the wave bends as it progresses, like a corkscrew. At the very center of this bend, the light cancels itself out, leaving a point of zero intensity; kind of dark.hole” in the light
It is understood mathematically that two singularities in a reference frame will be drawn together, accelerating as they approach, reaching speeds exceeding the speed of light in a vacuum.
“As oppositely charged singularities approach each other, their paths through space-time must form a continuous curve at the point of extinction, forcing their acceleration to infinite speeds just before extinction.” researchers explain in their article.
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It has been observed in other systems, but it is a little more difficult to examine how this scenario could occur in a lighted area. Much work has been done in physics laboratories to study this, but observations of optical vortices have been limited due to the technology’s inability to keep up with the speed at which vortex formation, motion, and collision occur.
To overcome these limitations, Kaminer and his colleagues recorded the behavior of optical vortices in a two-dimensional material called hexagonal boron nitride.
This material supports unusual light waves called phonon polaritons – hybrids of light and atomic vibrations – travel much slower than light alone and can be tightly confined. This creates complex interference patterns filled with many vortices, allowing researchers to track their movements in detail.
The second and important part was to capture these dynamics in real time. The team used a special high-speed electron microscope with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution, recording events that occurred in just 3 quadrillionths of a second.
Relating to: Speeds Higher Than Light May Be Why Gamma Ray Bursts Go Back in Time
They ran the experiment multiple times, each time recording with a slight delay compared to the previous study. By collecting hundreds of images created in this way, the researchers created a time-lapse of the vortices hurtling towards each other and destroying each other; In this process, their speeds reached superlight speeds for a very short time.
The experiment took place in a two-dimensional context. The next step, the researchers say, is to try to extend their work to higher dimensions to observe more complex behavior. They also say that the techniques they developed could help address some of the current limitations of electron microscopy.
“We believe that these innovative microscopy techniques will enable the study of hidden processes in physics, chemistry and biology.” Kaminer says“It reveals for the first time how nature behaves in its fastest and most difficult moments.”
The research was published at: Nature.
