According to the studies of quantum mechanics, light can act simultaneously as a particle and a wave. However, scientists have never been able to capture light in both of its forms at the same time— until now.
Energy-space photography of light confined on a nanowire simultaneously shows both spatial interference and energy quantization. (Image via Fabrizio Carbone/EPFL)
Scientists from The École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne have figured out how to take the first snapshot of light behaving as both a wave and a particle by using electrons to image light.
How they did it
A pulse of laser light was fired at a tiny metallic nanowire. The laser added energy to the charged particles in the nanowire which caused them to vibrate. Light travels along the wire in two possible directions (similar to that of a highway). When the waves that were travelling in opposite directions met each other, they formed a new wave that looked like it was standing still. That standing wave became the source of light for the experiment, radiating around the nanowire.
This wasn’t the end of it though. The scientists then shot a stream of electrons close to the nanowire, using them to capture the standing wave of light. As the electrons interacted with the confined light on the nanowire, they either sped up or slowed down. The team then used an ultrafast microscope to capture the position of this change in speed. Finally the scientists were able to actually see the standing wave which can act as a fingerprint of the wave-nature of light.
What it means
“This experiment demonstrates that, for the first time ever, we can film quantum mechanics – and its paradoxical nature – directly. Being able to image and control quantum phenomena at the nanometer scale like this opens up a new route towards quantum computing,” said Fabrizio Carbone, EPFL team leader of the project.
Story via École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne.
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