The Physics of Lightsabers - Stopping Light, Photonic Molecules & Bose-Einstein Condensates

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• published: 31 Dec 2016
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Is it possible to build a lightsaber made out of light? Figuring out how to go about building a lightsaber gives us the perfect excuse to learn about new exotic states of light and matter at the cutting edge of science and technology. Are you ready? Let's dive in! ** Please support my channel by becoming a patron: http://www.patreon.com/crackingthenutshell ** Or... how about a Paypal Donation? http://crackingthenutshell.org/donate Full script here: http://crackingthenutshell.org/the-physics-of-lightsabers-stopping-light-photonic-molecules-bose-einstein-condensates Have you ever wondered if it’s possible to build a real-life lightsaber? And if so, would it be possible to make it out of light (as opposed to using plasma instead)? I mean, after all, we want to make a lightsaber not a plasma-saber… right? Most people think that – if we are to ever build a lightsaber – we’ll most likely need to use super-hot high-energy plasma. Some say that it would be impossible to build a lightsaber made out of actual light, since we can’t make light stop at a specific length, and since a lightsaber made of light would be useless because light has no charge and no mass and hence it cannot interact with other lightsabers. Ok, perhaps that’s the case. But… what if it’s not? What if the limits of what is possible are only in our imagination? Let’s explore the science that is already out there… And why not speculate a little bit along the way?! Thinking about how to build a lightsaber is going to be the perfect excuse to learn about new exotic states of light and matter at the cutting edge of science and technology, so… without further ado, let’s dive in! Summary: - Technical Problem Number 1: The Lightsaber’s Length. Can We Stop Light? - Bose-Einstein condensates, Speed of light, slow light, stop light, Lene Hau, quantum computation, quantum bits transfer from light to matter and vice-versa, no loss of information - Technical Problem number 2: Light beams that Repel Each Other. Can we Make Light Behave a bit Like Charged Matter? - How can we possibly replicate the matter-like properties of a lightsaber,? Ordinary light has no charge or mass... how can two lightsabers interact with each other? - Creation of photonic molecules. Light that behaves a bit like matter. Photonic bound which is kept even after emerging out of the BEC. Mikhail Lukin, Alexey Gorshkov - Technical Problem Number 3: a Working Handle. Do we Really Have to use Near-Absolute-Zero Temperatures? - How to re-create extreme conditions inside a tiny handle? Could we condense photons directly? At room temperature and pressure? Martin Weitz, Alex Kruchkov. Creation of photonic condensates in realistic conditions. Super-photons - Reflective surfaces (mirrors) needed. We either need rods or mirrors (big problem) - Arthur C. Clark's quote: “The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to venture beyond them into the impossible” Thank you so much for watching! :-) More info here: Using BEC to Slow Down Light: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EK6HxdUQm5s  Physics for the 21st Century - Manipulating Light: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iiE3E0iL9A  What is Slow Light? http://physicscentral.com/explore/action/light.cfm  Stopped light means go for quantum computers (eventually): https://cosmosmagazine.com/physics/stopped-light-means-go-for-quantum-computers-eventually Scientists create never-before-seen form of matter (2013): http://phys.org/news/2013-09-scientists-never-before-seen.html  Physicists create 'molecules' of light (2013): http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/2013/sep/26/physicists-create-molecules-of-light  NIST Physicists Show 'Molecules' Made of Light May Be Possible (2015): https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2015/09/nist-physicists-show-molecules-made-light-may-be-possible  Physicists create new source of light: Bose-Einstein condensate 'super-photons' (2010): https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101124143407.htm Trapping photons: a model for containing light (Alex Kruchkov - 2014): http://www.alexkruchkov.com/single-post/2014/04/09/Trapping-photons-a-model-for-containing-light Bose-Einstein Condensation of Photons (Imperial College London): http://www.imperial.ac.uk/centre-for-cold-matter/research/photon-bec/ New State of Light Revealed With Photon-Trapping Method: http://www.livescience.com/45287-how-to-trap-light.html