New phase of light holds the key to quantum encryption
By Tim Sandle 5 hours ago
A new phase of light has been discovered. This has been named a "super photon". It is formed of thousands of individual light particles (photons). This could help unlock quantum encryption.
The discovery was made at the University of Bonn and it has been described as a completely new light source. The "super photon" has been named an optical Bose-Einstein condensate (the fifth state of matter). Another term is an overdamped phase of light. This means the amplitude of the vibration decreases.
In this state, light particles are no longer distinguishable as they have moved into the same quantum mechanical state, behaving as a single giant "super-particle”, or a single wave function (a mathematical description of the quantum state of an isolated quantum system).
The discovery was made after physicists trapped light particles in a resonator formed of two curved mirrors spaced just over a micrometer apart. The mirrors function to reflect a rapidly reciprocating beam of light. Within the space between the mirrors, a liquid dye is added, which works to cool down the photons as dye molecules consume and regurgitate the photons.
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/tech-and-science/science/new-phase-of-light-holds-the-key-to-quantum-encryption/article/588016#ixzz6rJqEfWoQ
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