And if light could be manipulated not only in space but also in time, not crazy! A group of scientists from universities in the United Kingdom and the United States have just done exactly that, for the first time they managed to control light as it travels, making it change frequency, split into two different pulses, and even become more transparent than it was before.
I'm talking about something far beyond classical refraction, that discovery could revolutionize modern optics, create hitherto impossible devices and open the door to technologies that today seem like science fiction.
The scientists used materials called transparent conductive oxides (CCOs) that are glass-like, but with unique electrical and optical properties, unlike traditional materials they can change their properties in just 6 fentoseconds or 6 quadrillionths of a second.
Unlike spatial refraction that bends light as it passes between materials, temporal refraction alters the speed and frequency of light as it travels within the same material, it is as if time itself were flipping the light in real time.
Using two lasers and layers of aluminum and zinc oxide less thick than a grain of dust, the researchers managed to split a single pulse of light into two, each with half the energy and traveling in opposite directions, an unprecedented effect called space-spectral optical fission.
The discovery makes it possible to create materials that change their behavior instantly, which could generate adaptive lenses, smart mirrors and even dynamic optical circuits, paving the way for new technologies in communication, quantum computing and precision sensors.
Imagine an internet network based on light where the signal can be adjusted and redirected instantly without the need for mobile physical components, this technology could be the basis of ultra-fast and secure communications. The temporary manipulation of light could lead to the creation of reconfigurable optical chips where data flows at the speed of light and is adjusted in real time, drastically accelerating the computers of the future, cameras that adjust the focus, brightness and depth of fields not with motors but with materials that change in fractions of a second, creating brighter images. sharp and realistic in any environment.
The tests showed that the transparency of the material increased by 300%, which means greater energy efficiency in optical devices and less signal loss in light-based communications. According to scientists, materials with temporal variation are the greatest advance since meta materials, they offer absolute control over the behavior of light, something that until now was only theoretical.
This discovery breaks the limits of optical laws known as Snell's law of refraction. For the first time, it is possible to alter the frequency of light itself in a controlled manner, something that could transform the fields of optics, photonics and even augmented reality.
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