Super Photons, a condensate made of light

[HysteryDiagnosis]

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101124143407.htm


A condensate made of light


The Bonn physicists then increased the quantity of photons between the mirrors by exciting the pigment solution using a laser. This allowed them to concentrate the cooled-off light particles so strongly that they condensed into a "super-photon."

This photonic Bose-Einstein condensate is a completely new source of light that has characteristics resembling lasers. But compared to lasers, they have a decisive advantage, "We are currently not capable of producing lasers that generate very short-wave light -- i.e. in the UV or X-ray range," explained Jan Klärs. "With a photonic Bose-Einstein condensate this should, however, be possible."

[Motown_Johnny]

1. WOW ! Great article, thanks for posting it.

This looks like it is going to be huge. I hope it doesn't take them decades to implement the new technology.


*Edit to add* Emphasis on the last word of the article "photovoltaics". (Solar Power)

[Ikonoklast]

2. This sounds like it might have a military application.

Hand-held blasters, here we come!

[HysteryDiagnosis]

3. Or maybe candy.... incandescant, cherry flavored taste bud

blasters.... or not.

[Ikonoklast]

5. That emit a burst of X-rays when you bite into them!

You've found a perfect assasin's tool to use against enemies with a sweet tooth!



You should patent that right now before it's too late.

[Motown_Johnny]

6. I would, again, love to see the battery that small and yet that powerful

[Ikonoklast]

8. Not a battery as such, think capacitor.

Maybe something with a crystalline lattice structure that has a large storage capacity relative to its physical dimensions...instead of re-loading with 'bullets' to discharge, you re-load your capacitors.



Hey, if someone can imagine it, sooner or later, someone will figure out a way to build it.

[Motown_Johnny]

4. Everything has military implications. I would love to see the battery for your blaster

Something that small and light with that much power would be such a huge break through for electric vehicles that I would risk people killing each other with light instead of lead.

[Cirque du So-What]

7. Naww, much too powerful for a hand-held device

You need a much sturdier weapons platform, say, a starship that fires photon torpedoes.

[Ikonoklast]

9. Waste of energy.

They would have been better off hurling large rocks at their enemies accelerated to relativistic speeeds, the energies released would have been much greater, and, I suppose, much cheaper to accomplish than having an entire photon weapon system on board that never seems to do any damage to an adversary anyway.

They already knew how to accelerate a mass past light-speed...heck, they could have thrown their garbage at them and achieved the same damaging effect.


"Captain, the Ferengi have fired their dreaded Poo Gun!"

"Evasive action, Mr. Worf! Prepare to throw last night's leftovers at them!"

[Cirque du So-What]

10. Could it be that the military-industrial complex

still holds sway in the United Federation of Planets? Who is behind this support of a wasteful, ineffective weapons system anyway?

[Ikonoklast]

12. Horrible to think that just might be true.

"Look, Senator, I know that the Grumman Granite Chunker is cheap technology that's been a time-proven 100% reliable weapon system platform for the last three centuries, and the new Boeing/General Electric/VulcanDefenseTech Starship Class Photon Torpedo Weapon System is an unproven, massively heavy, poorly designed and even though it has been four decades in development and over budget by ninety quadrillion credits still quite 'buggy', just think of the seven million United Federation of Planets defense contractor employees that live in your star system...and we'll be sure to tell them all how you voted on this project."


Some things never change...

[MilesColtrane]

11. I thought the main problem in continuing to miniaturize computer chips...

was the effect of quantum tunneling, not the size of the beam used in the lithographic step.

Perhaps this will have an application for optical computing, as silicon based chips would seem to be reaching their limit.