Light Dragged by Slowing It to Speed of Sound
GLASGOW, Scotland, July 7, 2011 — For the first time, light has been slowed to the speed of sound using a technique that could improve optical storage and the processing of quantum information.
Scientists at the University of Glasgow dragged light through various substances, such as water or solids, and reduced its wavelength speed – slowing it down to the speed of sound and sending it through a rotating crystal.
According to most people, the speed of light is constant, but this is only the case in a vacuum,...