| superluminal light pulse :: Page 1 of 1 |
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| Posted: Jul 25th 2005, 12:30 am Edits: 1 |
http://www.iitk.ac.in/infocell/Archive/dirjuly3/science_light.html
"A recent experiment* at NEC Research Institute, Princeton, N.J., U.S.A., clearly demonstrated superluminal propagation of a light pulse through a specially engineered medium. Superluminal implies faster than the speed of light, and in this experiment the peak of the light pulse arrives at the output end of the medium even before it has entered the medium."
this is a few years old but really interesting anyways |
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| Posted: Jul 25th 2005, 12:35 am Edits: 0 |
this just adds another experiment showing einsteins formula on time dialation in relativity is correct
the thing thats gets me about this is how the results affect our perception on free thought, how can it be free thought if our actions can be predetermined, since it was preditable when the person was going to push the button to sent the light pulse as the light pulse was received before it was released. or could it be as stephen hawking suggests, time is something we make up in our minds to expain a universe much to complex for us to comprehend. |
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| Posted: Jul 25th 2005, 1:19 am Edits: 0 |
Well it kind of does suggest that the theoretical speed c is but a constant outside the rephasing medium. Even though it does suggest this in the experiment that there may be a possibilty for communication via Superluminal propogation of said signal, it also does suggest that this is not anything new, ie part of the interesting fact of light being both a wave and partical, in this case refering to the way it exsists and moves as a wave.
What must be realized is thet this is not the first time the experiment has been a success. The first superluminal propogation of a light pulse through a medium created by man occured in the early 80's during an American Military experiment to increase component reaction time in large defensive lasers. The real problem with this technology as of today is the aplication of said results. Sure you can create a switch, which under optimal conditions could answer a basic question before it is asked. But then you are stuck within the Quantum conundrum, would that have been the answer at the actual moment before it was measured. And that my friends we can never know, for when ever a measurement is taken is changes the properties of the subject being measured. |
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| Posted: Jul 26th 2005, 5:22 pm Edits: 0 |
| seamusmac wrote: | Well it kind of does suggest that the theoretical speed c is but a constant outside the rephasing medium. Even though it does suggest this in the experiment that there may be a possibilty for communication via Superluminal propogation of said signal, it also does suggest that this is not anything new, ie part of the interesting fact of light being both a wave and partical, in this case refering to the way it exsists and moves as a wave.
What must be realized is thet this is not the first time the experiment has been a success. The first superluminal propogation of a light pulse through a medium created by man occured in the early 80's during an American Military experiment to increase component reaction time in large defensive lasers. The real problem with this technology as of today is the aplication of said results. Sure you can create a switch, which under optimal conditions could answer a basic question before it is asked. But then you are stuck within the Quantum conundrum, would that have been the answer at the actual moment before it was measured. And that my friends we can never know, for when ever a measurement is taken is changes the properties of the subject being measured. |
im sorry this isnt much of an intelectualy answer but it sounds like your saying the same thing sugested by the computer inhitch hikers guide " the answer is 42 " but what is the question ? but my reason for replying was because i found that to be an interesting artical but as of this moment am not sure what to say about it for all i know is what was there do you have any other links of similare experiments or ideas of recent or past? |
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| Posted: Jul 26th 2005, 9:51 pm Edits: 0 |
| Ls-Kelvin wrote: | | im sorry this isnt much of an intelectualy answer but it sounds like your saying the same thing sugested by the computer inhitch hikers guide ' the answer is 42 ' but what is the question ? but my reason for replying was because i found that to be an interesting artical but as of this moment am not sure what to say about it for all i know is what was there do you have any other links of similare experiments or ideas of recent or past? |
well the descision to make it a non intellectual (re spelling in the quote)answer was that I was basically trying to convey the idea without losing people in alot of double speak. As for it not being a correct answer, who knows. But in comparing this with hitchhikers guide I find humourous as you do not have much of an understanding in reference to quatum mechanics or that comparison would seem foolish to you upon looking back at it.
Yes this article is interesting, but it is just that an article with basic information behind it and a fairly simplistic explanation of the actual experiment. Im sure it would be far more interesting to read the entire paper that was created by this experment and the complete conclusions in said paper. Before you ask, no I do not hold any sort of degree in physics or quantum mechanics so I am what is considered a layperson of he field. I am such as the field is very interesting and I do enjoy reading about this type of experiment and the resulting hypothosis that come from it. |
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| Posted: Jul 26th 2005, 11:55 pm Edits: 0 |
Im interested in this but I totally don't understand scientific stuff. Can either of you explain this in more simple terms? How is it possible to go faster than the speed of light? And if so is that like the idea of "folding space" like worm holes?
(If you can explain it in star trek terms I would probably understand) hahaha  |
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| Posted: Jul 27th 2005, 11:57 am Edits: 0 |
well the idea is that when light if projected through a substance that causes the light to refract in such a way that it shortens the wave length, thus making it faster, it does exceed the speed of light while it is in this substance and upon exiting the wave reverts back to its original state and length...ie back to the speed of light. |
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| Posted: Jul 27th 2005, 12:09 pm Edits: 1 |
| clonis wrote: | | time is something we make up in our minds to expain a universe much to complex for us to comprehend. |
i think my brain just imploded
stuff like this weirds me out
but im really interested in it.
i think about stuff like this all the time. It boggles the mind and reminds me of the book 1984....where they explain that you can't explain something if there are no words to explain it.
the world in which we live in has such trivial battles and issues, we could be putting our efforts forth to such better things...
BTW i edited the original post so the link is actually a link  |
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| Posted: Jul 27th 2005, 12:16 pm Edits: 0 |
...and then I tried to read the article and I am lost by half way through.
hell will freeze over before I understand physics.
so if they can make light travel faster.... is it possible to slow it down to the speed of sound? What would happen? What if you went faster than it? What if you were in a vehicle going faster than the speed of light and it had headlights? would the light trail behind? would there be some kind of reaction like when you break the sound barrier and you get the sonic boom? |
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| Posted: Jul 27th 2005, 6:53 pm Edits: 0 |
| seamusmac wrote: | well the descision to make it a non intellectual (re spelling in the quote)answer was that I was basically trying to convey the idea without losing people in alot of double speak. As for it not being a correct answer, who knows. But in comparing this with hitchhikers guide I find humourous as you do not have much of an understanding in reference to quatum mechanics or that comparison would seem foolish to you upon looking back at it.
Yes this article is interesting, but it is just that an article with basic information behind it and a fairly simplistic explanation of the actual experiment. Im sure it would be far more interesting to read the entire paper that was created by this experment and the complete conclusions in said paper. Before you ask, no I do not hold any sort of degree in physics or quantum mechanics so I am what is considered a layperson of he field. I am such as the field is very interesting and I do enjoy reading about this type of experiment and the resulting hypothosis that come from it. |
yes, i used that example to show i didnt know what i was talking about but i did find it interesting and will ask again does any one have any more information on it |
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| Posted: Jul 27th 2005, 7:56 pm Edits: 0 |
| Lisamahphone wrote: | ...and then I tried to read the article and I am lost by half way through.
hell will freeze over before I understand physics.
so if they can make light travel faster.... is it possible to slow it down to the speed of sound? What would happen? What if you went faster than it? What if you were in a vehicle going faster than the speed of light and it had headlights? would the light trail behind? would there be some kind of reaction like when you break the sound barrier and you get the sonic boom? |
Slowing light down is possible, down to the speed of sound is not. the slowwing of light is limited to the use of an translucent medium with a negative refactoral rate. But even then you would only being slowwing the light down while it was in that medium, and if you created a medium that was to large the light would become difussed far enough that it would no longer be able to continue. eg the ocean, after a certain depth light is no longer able to penetrate the water.
Tavelling faster than light if possible you would be presented with another problem. That being he time dilation that would occur with it. For as you exceed the speed of light you would percieve time at yor normal rate but the outside universe would percieve you travelling faster so when you arrive somewhere you would exsist at the current time and the universe would have aged exponentially in relation to the time you have percieved passing. See the disney movie 'Flight of the Navigator' for a basic example of this.
Headlights would become useless on said vehicle as the light would not be projected faster than the vehicle.
Yes, theoretically their would be a reaction like a sonic boom if someone were able to surpass the speed of light. What is thought is as the object exceeds the speed of light the object would cease to be solid and be converted into a wave form and would return to its solid form upon returning to below light speed. But as I said it is theoretical as we cannot exceed the speed of light that we know of at this point in time, except by an experiment which this post is about and that is just light travelling faster than light speed. |
