Japanese scientists from Tohoku University have developed new crystals that can distort light like black holes, supposedly under the influence of gravity. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Physical Examination A (PRA).
According to the theory of relativity, light and other electromagnetic waves are affected by gravitational forces. This is called gravitational lensing and is used by astronomers to study quasars and other large space objects. Gravitational lensing is very difficult to recreate in the laboratory, but it is possible to mimic its effect using crystal structures.
Scientists began experimenting with photonic crystals consisting of two or more structures. Such objects can slow down the light passing through them. The team gradually distorted these crystals, disrupting the crystal lattice, and then passed light beams through the material and watched for deflections.
Such manipulation of light is one potential way to develop next-generation communication technologies that will require information transmission in the range above 100 gigahertz. For comparison, the maximum frequency of 5G technology is 71 gigahertz.
Astrophysicists before to create There are signs of the existence of rare “electric” ice in space.