3 ms·
Time and energy are “conjugated” quantities: the more one is sharp, the more the other one is broad (it’s the same concept as Fourier transforming a Gaussian: t
by ziofill 1y ago
Time and energy are “conjugated” quantities: the more one is sharp, the more the other one is broad (it’s the same concept as Fourier transforming a Gaussian: the more it’s peaked the more the transform is broad). In order for the time duration of the pulse to be so short, it must have a broad uncertainty in energy, which for light is the same as a wide spectrum of colors.
That’s why it’s very tricky to find materials for mirrors and lenses when working with these short pulses: they must work well over a large range of frequencies. If they happen to absorb some more than others not only they would burn, but they would also change the temporal profile of the pulse.
- callc 1y agoThanks very much ziofill. Is this the same thing as the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle? Or is there something else similar for time and energy?
- ziofill 1y agoYes, it's the same thing in the sense that even if you work with a single photon the same applies (if you want its wavefunction to be narrow in time, its energy uncertainty must be broad)