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Scientists 'Tie Light in Knots'

Breakthrough could lead to more precise lasers, traffic speed guns

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 18, 2010 10:30 AM CST

(Newser) – A team of physicists say they’ve managed to “tie light in knots” using holograms and abstract mathematics. The breakthrough could have a host of practical applications, including more precise lasers and traffic speed guns. It’s also the first physical application of “knot theory,” a branch of mathematics inspired by the winding of shoelaces, which was previously believed to be totally abstract.

“Although it often flows in a straight line—out of a torch, laser pointer, etc—light can also flow in whirls and eddies, forming lines in space called 'optical vortices,’” explained one researcher. These optical vortices are often invisible to the naked eye, but his team was able to direct them using sophisticated holograms.

Using a hologram and abstract mathematics, scientists managed to tie light in knots.
Using a hologram and abstract mathematics, scientists managed to tie light in knots.   (Shutterstock)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 16 comments
Zero
Jan 19, 2010 12:23 PM CST
Light Sabers soon...
Pragmaticrealism
Jan 19, 2010 8:24 AM CST
lol Joe keep it up!
Pragmaticrealism
Jan 19, 2010 8:23 AM CST
These findings help to confirm that light moves/exists in both wave form and particle form. It is called WAVE-PARTICLE DUALITY, and the ramifications of the theory are unbelievable, enlightening, even in our everyday lives. Open your mind to theoretical physics, and you will find that literally everything is interconnected, and that we can choose to create our own realities.

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