4 ms·
I'm a biochemist, not a physicist, but I have had some quantum chemistry. Here's my (probably incorrect) thinking: Light passing through the "open state" cryst
by possibilistic 13y ago
I'm a biochemist, not a physicist, but I have had some quantum chemistry. Here's my (probably incorrect) thinking:
Light passing through the "open state" crystal may travel significantly slower due to interaction/absorbance with the crystal atoms along the beam path. Energy injection from the lasers is probably necessary for maintenance of the "open state", and as soon as the laser is shut off there may remain photons that are being absorbed/emitted by the atoms in the crystal lattice. When the crystal is in the "closed state", the photons will be "trapped" (continuous absorption or non-emission or something?).
It's all about quantized energy levels. At certain energies, the atoms will interact differently.
Someone please correct my thinking here.
- rolleiflex 13y agoA question for you since you seem to know about light in media: my understanding is that the speed of light is also the speed events propagate through spacetime. So, considering a galaxy made entirely out of pure crystalline diamond, would events propagate slower in that galaxy? In other words, does time itself slow down under those circumstances, does it not change? It could also be that the speed of light is constrained by the speed events propagate through spacetime and not the other way around, but I am most probably thoroughly confused.
- eru 13y ago> So, considering a galaxy made entirely out of pure crystalline diamond, would events propagate slower in that galaxy? In other words, does time itself slow down under those circumstances, does it not change? It doesn't change. See e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherenkov_radiation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherenkov_radiation where electrons travel faster than the speed of light in a specific medium.