speedoflight
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Test can show if the speed of light has changed
Modern science assumes that the speed of light has always been the same. Researchers have suggested that this seeming constant might have changed over time, however, and they now have a way to find out whether or not that's true. Professors João Magueijo and Niayesh Afshordi have developed a prediction that should test for changes in light speed. They've given the fluctuations in density the early universe, detectable through cosmic background radiation, an exact spectral index number based on the theory that light was much faster in the first seconds following the Big Bang (0.96478, if you're curious). If future measurements of the index line up with this number, they'll support the notion that light speed has shifted.
Neutrinos may not be faster than light, but they can shapeshift
About four years ago, CERN made a claim that sent shockwaves through the scientific community. During the course of an experiment, CERN scientists apparently discovered that neutrinos -- tiny subatomic particles that travel near light speed -- could possibly accelerate faster than light. That, however, turned out to be an error, apparently due to some faulty testing equipment [Sad trombone]. Why are we talking about this now? Well, scientists have finally completed the experiment's original goal, which was to see if neutrinos could shift from one type to another (also known as the Oscillation Project with Emulation-tRacking Apparatus (OPERA) experiment). And, well, they can. Between 2008 and 2012, researchers were able to shoot a beam of "muon" type neutrinos through the Earth -- traveling a 730 kilometer distance from CERN in Geneva, Switzerland to the Gran Sasso lab in Italy -- and found that they had metamorphosed into "tau" type neutrinos on the other side. Just recently, the team uncovered the fifth such "tau" neutrino, thus concluding the experiment. While the study's result won't spoil Einstein's theory of relativity, the discovery is still an important step forward in the world of particle physics. [Image credit: AFP/Getty Images]
Scientists eye secure communications by slowing down light
We've already seen what fiber optics can do for internet speeds, and it looks like the medium could be used for quantum communications too. See, as EurekAlert tells it, scientists from the Vienna University of Technology have figured out a way to modify the material so it can be used to control the speed of light. The researchers successfully grafted cesium atoms to the fibers, allowing them to slow light down from its typical 671 million MPH pace to around 112 MPH (180 KPH). The researchers were able to bring the light to a complete stop and then restart it later, too -- something EurekAlert says in a pretty major step toward quantum internet. It'd be much more secure than what we have currently as well, given that professor Arno Rauschenbeutel says that quantum physics at its very core allows for a connection between sender and receiver and anyone tapping in won't go unnoticed. [Image credit: Shutterstock]
Researchers create hollow fiber optic cable, almost reach the speed of light
Fiber optic cables are usually made of glass or plastic but those materials actually slow down the transmission of light ever so slightly. Researchers at the University of Southampton in the UK have created a hollow fiber optic cable filled with air that's 1000 times faster than current cables. Since light propagates in air at 99.7 percent of the speed of light in a vacuum, this new hollow fiber optic cable is able to reach data speeds of 10 terabytes (!) per second. Now that's fast. While the idea isn't new, it's previously been hampered by signal degradation when light travels around corners. This new hollow fiber optic cable reduces data loss to a manageable 3.5dB/km, making it suitable for use in supercomputer and data center applications. Isn't science wonderful? [Image credit: qwrrty, Flickr]
The Theory uses tiny MicroVision projector to concoct even tinier police chase (video)
Looking like the ghost of Hot Wheels fantasies past, a new video short has beamed out of the minds at The Theory -- a production team that just happens to have a MicroVision pico projector. Called "Speed of Light", the mixed media film was made by projecting shots onto walls, floors and objects like laptops and then filming it with "no CGI trickery" added later, according to the team. Featuring a miniature Ford GT chased by a police car, helicopters, missiles and explosions, the pursuit was filmed with a Canon 5D MkII and HD MiniCam. To see if the little crook gets away with it, peel out to the video after the break.
Remember those faster-than-light neutrinos? Great, now forget 'em
A week ago the world went wild over CERN's tentative claim that it could make neutrinos travel faster than light. Suddenly, intergalactic tourism and day trips to the real Jurassic Park were back on the menu, despite everything Einstein said. Now, however, a team of scientists at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands reckons it's come up with a more plausible (and disappointing) explanation of what happened: the GPS satellites used to measure the departure and arrival times of the racing neutrinos were themselves subject to Einsteinian effects, because they were in motion relative to the experiment. This relative motion wasn't properly taken into account, but it would have decreased the neutrinos' apparent journey time. The Dutch scientists calculated the error and came up with the 64 nanoseconds. Sound familiar? That's because it's almost exactly the margin by which CERN's neutrinos were supposed to have beaten light. So, it's Monday morning, Alpha Centauri and medieval jousting tournaments remain as out of reach as ever, and we just thought we'd let you know.
Scientists prove cosmological speed limit, time travel moves a little further out of reach
The cosmological speed limit remains unbroken. A team of researchers from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, led by Du Shengwang, claim to have proven that a single photon is incapable of traveling faster than light. The support for Einstein's special theory of relativity all but rules out the simplest form of time travel -- breaking the universe's traffic laws to condense time within a vessel. Don't get freaked out though, this doesn't mean time travel is impossible, only that it will be much more difficult than firing up a warp drive. General relativity still holds hope for bending and ripping the space-time continuum to meet our eon-hopping desires. Looks like it's time to get working on our flux capacitor technology.
German scientists claim to have broken speed of light
We're almost terrified to hear what the physicists in the crowd have to say about this one, but a duo of German scientists have reportedly broken the speed of light. To do so, the two "set up an experiment in which microwave photons, energetic packets of light, appeared to travel instantaneously between two prisms forming the halves of a cube placed a meter apart." According to them, they were able to force light to overcome its own speed limit by utilizing a "strange phenomenon known as quantum tunneling." Dr. Gunter Nimtz was even quoted as saying that for the time being, it was the "only violation of special relativity that he knew of," and while it does indeed sound (way) too good to be true, we'll step aside and let the experts battle it out.[Via Telegraph, thanks Ian]UPDATE: As predicted, there's a high probability that these claims aren't exactly, shall we say, infallibly correct -- but at least someone's giving it a go, eh?
Researchers slow light to a "crawl," photonic computers imminent
While other divisions of NTT are trying to rev up data transmission rates as high as possible, others are trying to slow down the speed of light. This might seem like a Sisyphean task, but those Japanese scientists have done it -- researchers from the telco giant have just published a paper in the January edition of Nature Photonics showing that by using synthetic "photonic crystals," light can be slowed to 5.8 kilometers per second (it normally goes at about 300,000 kilometers per second). We ought to point out, though, that this isn't the first time that light has been slowed down so much, with a team at Harvard achieving the task last year by using ultra-cold Bose-Einstein condensates, and another study at Harvard showed in 2003 that light could be slowed all the way to 38 mph. Still, all of this research is another step forward in "photonic computing," which aims to use trapped light to usurp more traditional electron storage in traditional computer logic. We're sure that once this technology gets transferred to consumer-grade laptops (like, say in 2020), we'll be able to render 12-dimensional shapes in no time at all. [Image courtesy The Economist]Read - The RegisterRead - TechworldRead - New Scientist
