Watch the videos... I don't quite know what to make of this... my whole yr12 physics course assumes light is a constant... noo! XD _________________ ( •_•)
Joined: 27 Jun 2004
Posts: 1105
Location: SunshineCoast
Brilliant _________________ Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.
Albert Einstein.
Thu Nov 01, 2007 10:37 pm
Knightrous Site Admin
Joined: 15 Jun 2004
Posts: 8511
Location: NSW
I heard of a similar article on THG, but this one seems to have had more success then other guys. Being able to convert light to matter, then turn it back from matter into light is rather interesting. I believe this pushes us that fraction closer to Optical Computing and possibly Stealth technologies... Imagine a fighter plane that absorbs light, transfers the matter across the armour and releases it on the other side... Invisible plane batman! Or store all the light on the armour then release it like a flash bang
Joined: 15 Jun 2004
Posts: 696
Location: Sydney, NSW
From what I remember of physics the speed of light was not a constant, but rather a constant in a vacuum. This constant was then used to describe a whole bunch of other theories.
But I distinctly remember the teacher telling us of deutrium inside a nuclear reactor and how it glows because the light is refracting through it and slowing down considerably.
That's what I remember anyway.
Fri Nov 02, 2007 12:08 pm
Valen Experienced Roboteer
Joined: 07 Jul 2004
Posts: 4436
Location: Sydney
speed of light is constant in a vacuum (and about the same in air).
in glass its about 1/4 of that which is why glass refracts light.
I think the light you are talking about is Cherenkov radiation.
Its caused by charged particles (actual particles with mass, not light) are travelling faster than the speed of light in that medium. IE the products of the radioactive decay have a greater velocity than the speed of light in water. This causes the water molecules to become excited. When the electrons on the water molecules drop back to their normal energy level they give off light in the form of that blue glow. _________________ Mechanical engineers build weapons, civil engineers build targets
Sat Nov 03, 2007 9:02 am
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