Italian Scientists Freeze Light: A Quantum Breakthrough
By Elizabeth Prata
SYNOPSIS
Italian scientists have achieved a groundbreaking feat in condensed matter physics by transforming light into a supersolid, a unique state exhibiting properties of both solid and liquid at extremely low temperatures. This discovery challenges traditional physics, enabling potential advancements in optical technologies and quantum computing, while also raising philosophical and religious questions about the implications of such scientific progress.
Italian scientists have published a paper showing that they have performed a feat that makes a major breakthrough in condensed matter physics. As the layman says, they have frozen light.
For the first time, researchers have transformed light into a “‘supersolid” — a strange state of matter that is both solid and liquid at the same time. Supersolids are a strange state of matter defined by quantum mechanics where particles condense into an orderly, crystalline solid but also move like a liquid that has no viscosity, explains LiveScience.
Supersolids require extremely low temperatures to form — usually very close to absolute zero (minus 459.67 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 273.15 degrees Celsius). Most of the particles have to occupy the lowest energy state available, and heat makes particles jump up and down like excitable toddlers in a ball pit. If a material is cold enough, the temperature no longer obscures how the particles interact with each other. Instead, the tiny effects of quantum mechanics become the defining factors in how the material behaves. Imagine the toddlers have gone home and the ball pit has settled into a calm state. Now we can study in peace how the individual components of the ball pit interact with each other to define its characteristics. (LiveScience).
I liked the ball pit metaphor. Many scientists and journalists explaining the significance of this breakthrough say that it challenges our entire understanding of reality itself.
WION News is Indian English-language news network that covers global news. In a 2 minute video, they explain the frozen light breakthrough. There is a transcript of video below, then the video below that.
In an unprecedented feat scientists have achieved the Impossible. They have frozen pure light making it behave like a solid. Our next story explains how this mindbending discovery in a way challenges our entire understanding of reality itself. Take a look.
What is the fastest object in the universe? Well it’s light.
Einstein formulated that nothing could exceed the speed of light. Now in a discovery that borders on the supernatural. Physicists have achieved what Einstein himself would have called impossible. They’ve frozen beams of light into a crystalline structure, creating the first ever photonic solid. Scientists at The Institute of Advanced Photonics in Milan have achieved the seemingly impossible.
They forced light particles to remain perfectly still while maintaining their photonic properties. This isn’t merely slowing light down. It’s creating an entirely new state of matter that defies our fundamental understanding of physics.
In a paper published in Nature the team of Italian nanotechnologists and physicists explain how they fundamentally altered our understanding of Lights’ properties. The light they’ve manipulated has become a true supersolid, maintaining a crystalline structure while simultaneously exhibiting superfluid properties. This achievement challenges conventional views on the laws of nature, while making light more controllable and stable. The practical applications extend to Advanced Optical Technologies and Quantum Computing potentially revolutionizing how we process and transmit information, while opening doors to discovering entirely new forms of matter.
Uniformly, scientists are saying and science journalists are reporting that this is a huge breakthrough in quantum mechanics. They list all the potential applications that this new state of matter can be manipulated into, many of which I don’t understand. But they are excited about the new possibilities this represents.
I am always excited to see what man can do, and the advances that come our way. I’ve benefited from many technology and scientific advances in my lifetime. One of the first I remember was the successful heart transplant in 1967. Medicine has especially benefited from such advances.
However, just as I am excited for these breakthroughs, I am also wary. While I love the internet and computing, artificial intelligence has gotten to a stage where it is impacting man negatively. Same with cell phones. At a point, the downsides outweigh the benefits. This is because humans who create these things are sinners. Sin always slides everything down.
A commenter on the Physics subreddit stated, “It is pretty incredible no matter how simple or complex it’s written. Everyday you look around at the world and it’s hard to see how advanced we actually are. In my lifetime we have went from landlines, cable, polaroids, and cassettes to quantum computers, smartphones, robots and AI, drones, and now this with there being so much more in many other fields. With all the drama being shown nonstop everyday it is easy to forget that it is actually an amazing time to be alive. They “froze” light… truly amazing.“
It is. Capturing the fastest thing in the universe, making it stop, and being able to manipulate it is an achievement. But a good one or a bad one?
What does the Shekinah light look like? What does glory light look like? How bright was the light from the myriad of angels who shone upon the Shepherds on the night of Jesus’ birth? How different is the light from the sun from the Light from Jesus we will experience in the New Jerusalem?
It is all so thought-provoking. I wonder how God feels about this breakthrough? God is Light, the source of light, and the creator of the universe. His transcendent mind outpaces anything a puny human can think or do. Will this advance in quantum mechanics be an immediate Tower of Babel for us? Or will God allow the scientific advances “bordering on the supernatural” to continue until our civilization and the earth are remade after the Tribulation? Time will tell.
