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December 4, 2008 10:37:46 AM CST

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Trapping the Colors of the Fiber Rainbow

Posted Nov 18, 07 10:41 PM CST in Business,  Science & Health,  Technology 

(Newser) – One of the immutable laws of physics is that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light, about 186,000 miles per second. But The Economist reports new research shows it may be possible to slow down light to a virtual halt, and even store it. If that could be achieved, the stored light could revolutionize data transfers in computer systems and networks.

Details of the concept are revealed in the current Nature. Researchers envisage tapered fiber optics made with a material with an inner core that has a negative refractive index - which would make the light beam ever narrower. As the thickness of the fiber optic decreases, colors of the light spectrum are trapped at different points, allowing them to literally catch a rainbow.      

Source Economist

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Professor Ortwin Hess, Head of the Theory and Advanced Computation Group, University of Sussex Physics Department. His team has developed a revolutionary fiber optics concept which could be used to store...   (University of Sussex)
New research shows a revolutionary fiber optic design might be able to halt light and store it. Such a breakthrough could be used make super fast computers. (Photo credit should read JOEL ROBINE/AFP/Getty...   (Getty Images (by Event))
As the tapered fiber optic narrows, light is slowed and stored. Different colors of the spectrum are halted at different points of the taper, literally trapping a rainbow.   (University of Sussex Theory and Advanced Computation Group)
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