Crystal that keeps the light

2002/01/08 Galarraga Aiestaran, Ana - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Materialak
• Fisika
• Hardwarea

This crystal is of itrium silicate and contains several atoms of the element praseodimio, structure that allows you to store the light and release it later. According to Philip Hemmer, director of the research team, crystal can be used on quantum computers to store information.

Conventional computers are based on electronic and magnetic devices. The information is transmitted through electromagnetic pulses, sudden increases and decreases in the difference of potential are read 0 or 1 and the information is stored in the binary system.

The light moves to the void at an approximate speed of 300,000 kilometers per second and, if it can accumulate and release, could be used to store information. Last year they managed for the first time to stop light in an experiment. To stop the ray of light, in the experiment the steam of the metal atoms cooled in almost zero absolute was used. However, glass is much more useful than cold gas and it is easier to penetrate among the components of the new computers.

The light, passing from the void to any other subject, is always slow a little; the higher the refractive index of the material, the slower it passes. To reduce the speed of the laser beam, scientists have looked for materials with huge refractive indices.

The light excites the atoms and makes them pass to another energetic state. Thus, it can be said that light passes from atoms to atoms. The team led by Hemmer has tried to avoid this process and has hindered the passage from one atom to another. To achieve this, with a laser beam, the pulse of light is coupled with atoms, which makes the pulse slow. If the union is strong enough, the pulse stops and all energy is transferred to atoms. The process is reversible and by varying the intensity of the laser beam, atoms once again emit pulses of light.

According to the result of this study, crystal can have interesting applications. Now you need to try.