The new form of material resembles a fictional sword of light

American scientists unknowingly discovered an entirely new form of material, which has properties similar to light swords in Hollywood's Star Wars fantasy series (Star Wars). .

According to a research report in Nature, Mikhail Lukin - physics professor at Harvard University and colleagues Vladan Vuletic - Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) physics professor has found a surprise after exploding it. photons through a cloud of rubidium atoms.

Professor Lukin said, when a photon enters the cloud of cold atoms, its energy stimulates atoms along the path, causing the speed of the photon's movement to slow down considerably. When a photon passes through the cloud, that energy is transmitted from one atom to another and eventually out of the cloud along with the photon.

A completely new form of material, with properties similar to the light sword in science fiction movies.(Artwork: Corbis)

Lukin explained that: ' That phenomenon is similar to the effect we observed with refraction of light in a glass of water.

When light enters water, it transmits part of its energy into the environment, and inside the glass of water, it exists as light and matter mingling together, but when it comes out, it is still light shining.

However, the process we just discovered is a bit different, the light is significantly reduced and more energy is dispersed than during the refraction process. '

When more than one photon enters the rubidium cloud at the same time, the team finds that the particles are clustered together to form a molecule. They claim, the material just created, so far, is entirely in theory and contrary to the accepted opinion of decades of the nature of light.

Photon has long been described as particles without weight and not interacting with each other. When two laser beams are projected, they will simply slide over each other.

However, according to Lukin, photon molecules behave less like traditional lasers, and have more similarities to a light sword. Specifically, when photons interact with each other, they repel and deflect each other.

In fact, the phenomenon that Mr. Lukin and his colleagues observed is called the barrier Rydberg (Rydberg blockade) .

Although this effect is unusual, it still has some practical applications, such as photons that can be the best quantum information medium for making a quantum computer. The system can also be useful for traditional computers, helping to overcome the energy dispersion of chips.

Lukin even proposed a system application someday to create complex 3-dimensional structures, such as crystals, entirely from light.