In 1998, scientists were able to slow down the light pulse; understand

Theoretically, it is impossible to reach the speed of light, but if it were possible, it would solve many scientific problems; for example, we could answer the mysteries about the planets in the Solar System. But can we slow down the speed of light? A paper published in the scientific journal Nature in 1998 showed that this is the case; A team of scientists has managed to slow down the speed of light to 17 m/s using lasers.

To perform the experiment, the researchers used a laser to induce quantum interference in a Bose-Einstein Condensate, successfully slowing down the speed of light from its initial normal speed.

They then applied the lasers to another matrix, reducing the speed even further. In the third step, the scientists achieved an impressive reduction by making the light travel at just 17 meters per second. Approximately 61 kilometers per hour.

The research indicates that it is possible to reduce the speed of the light pulse in a controlled manner and bring it back to normal. In other words, slowed light is present inside a sample of atoms, but its speed returns to normal when the pulse is turned off and on again.

“We are reaching the speed of light 17 [metros por segundo] For impact propagation in an atom cloud initially prepared as a nearly pure Bose Einstein Condensate (condensation fraction greater than or equal to 90 percent), whether the cloud remains in a condensate state during and after impact propagation is a question that is beyond the scope of this paper,” the researchers explain.

Is it possible to slow down light?

Although scientists proved that it was possible to slow down the pulse in 1998, science already knew that the speed of light could be reduced in some special cases. For example, the maximum speed of light in a vacuum is 299,792 kilometers per second. If you hit the water, this speed will drop to about 225 thousand kilometers per second.

It is important to emphasize that the main purpose of the experiment was not to create any slowdown. but this was an “extra” result obtained during the study of the Bose-Einstein Condensate..

“As soon as the light pulse is slowed down, compressed and contained within the atomic sample, we suddenly switch off the control laser field and then switch it back on. When the control laser is switched back on, the light pulse is generated again: we can controllably stop and regenerate the light pulse,” an official statement about the paper explains.

In a study published in 2024, a team of scientists managed to show that this is possible. It slows down the speed of light by up to 10 thousand times. So maybe in the future there will be commercial applications based on this concept.

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