Slowing the Speed of Light

Morgan Maher
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In 1999 Lene Hau slowed light from an "incomprehensible" rate of 186,000 miles per second to a leisurely 38mph. In 2001 further experiments led Hau and her team to "be able to park it then bring it back up to full speed."

This interview explores some of the implications.

 

Comments

Thank You for the Link

Submitted by sidecross on Wed, 09/26/2007 - 10:10.

I remember reading too not long ago that someone put forth a theory that at the instant of the sadly called ‘Big Bang’ light may have been faster than its now known ‘fixed rate’.

To paraphrase J.B.S. Haldane: the universe is not only stranger than we suppose, it is stranger than we can suppose.

A Link?

Submitted by Jonathan Talat Phillips on Wed, 09/26/2007 - 10:21.
Hi Sidecross, I never heard that before. Do you have a link for us to check out on this?

A Link

Submitted by sidecross on Wed, 09/26/2007 - 10:33.

http://www.amazon.com/Faster-Than-Speed-Light-Speculation/dp/0738205257

  

more about light speed

Submitted by Entropic Blur on Thu, 09/27/2007 - 10:51.
Light only moves 186,000 miles per second in a vacuum. You can stick it in anything and it will move slower (including air). The difference in the speeds of different frequencies of light through glass or plastic is what makes a rainbow visible through a prism.

Still, slowing it down to 38 mph is pretty cool. If you are interested in the speed of light and relativity, I highly recommend "Decoding the Universe" by Charles Seife, a popular science writer. Every now and then some one writes a paper on how they have successfully exceeded the speed of light, and Seife does a good job of presenting those experiments. He also explains their limitations (before you get too excited and jump into a time machine).

Namaste. --EB--