. 24/7 Space News .
STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Scientists discover new form of light
by Brooks Hays
Dublin, Ireland (UPI) May 17, 2016


disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only

Researchers in Ireland have discovered a new form of light. Their discovery is expected to reshape scientists' understanding of light's basic nature.

Angular momentum describes the rotation of a light beam around its axis. Until now, researchers believed the angular momentum was always a multiple of Planck's constant -- a constant ratio that describes the relationship between photon energy and frequency, and also sets the scale for quantum mechanics.

The newly discovered form of light, however, features photons with an angular momentum of just half the value of Planck's constant. The difference sounds small, but researchers say the significance of the discovery is great.

"For a beam of light, although traveling in a straight line it can also be rotating around its own axis," John Donegan, a professor at Trinity College Dublin's School of Physics, explained in a news release. "So when light from the mirror hits your eye in the morning, every photon twists your eye a little, one way or another."

"Our discovery will have real impacts for the study of light waves in areas such as secure optical communications," Donegan added.

Researchers made their discovery after passing light through special crystals to create a light beam with a hollow, screw-like structure. Using quantum mechanics, the physicists theorized that the beam's twisting photons were being slowed to a half-integer of Planck's constant.

The team of researchers then designed a device to measure the beam's angular momentum as it passed through the crystal. As they had predicted, they registered a shift in the flow of photons caused by quantum effects.

The researchers described their discovery in a paper published this week in the journal Science Advances.

"What I think is so exciting about this result is that even this fundamental property of light, that physicists have always thought was fixed, can be changed," concluded Paul Eastham, assistant professor of physics at Trinity.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Stellar Chemistry, The Universe And All Within It






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
STELLAR CHEMISTRY
How light is detected affects the atom that emits it
St. Louis MO (SPX) May 13, 2016
Flick a switch on a dark winter day and your office is flooded with bright light, one of many everyday miracles to which we are all usually oblivious. A physicist would probably describe what is happening in terms of the particle nature of light. An atom or molecule in the fluorescent tube that is in an excited state spontaneously decays to a lower energy state, releasing a particle called a pho ... read more


STELLAR CHEMISTRY
NASA research gives new insights into how the Moon got inked

First rocket made ready for launch at Vostochny spaceport

Supernova iron found on the moon

Russia to shift all Lunar launches to Vostochny Cosmodrome

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
AAC Microtec to develop miniaturized motion controller for space rovers and robots

Mars Rover Scientist Hopes to Find More Evidence of Liquid Water on the Red Planet

The rise and fall of Martian lakes

Opportunity microscopic imaging camera back to normal operations

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Interns Make Archived NASA Planetary Science Data More Accessible

Out of this world: 'Moon and Mars veggies' grow in Dutch greenhouse

NASA Invests in Next Stage of Visionary Technology Development

NASA makes dozens of patents available in public domain

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
China, U.S. hold first dialogue on outer space safety

Long March-7 rocket delivered to launch site

China's space technology extraordinary, impressive says Euro Space Center director

China can meet Chile's satellite needs: ambassador

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
ISS completes 100,000th orbit of Earth: mission control

Canadian astronaut to join ISS in 2018

NASA, Space Station partners announce future mission crew members

New landing date for ESA astronaut Tim Peake

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Russia Spent $1.3Bln on Vostochny Cosmodrome So Far

Pre-launch processing is underway with Indonesia's BRIsat for the next Arianespace heavy-lift flight

New Antares Rocket Rolls Out at NASA Wallops

First work platforms powered tested in VAB for Space Launch System

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Star Has Four Mini-Neptunes Orbiting in Lock Step

Exoplanets' Orbits Point to Planetary Migration

Synchronized planets reveal clues to planet formation

Kepler space telescope finds another 1284 exo planets

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Lockheed, Indra conduct test of new radar system

Scientists take a major leap toward a 'perfect' quantum metamaterial

UW team first to measure microscale granular crystal dynamics

Self-healing, flexible electronic material restores functions after many breaks









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.