The researchers used a special deformable crystal to deflect the path of light in the same way a black hole does, Live Science reported.
A new crystal can bend light in the same way a black hole does: it deflects light from its usual straight path. the Physical review a. According to a study published on September 28
So-called pseudo-gravity can be used in 6G communications technology.
Next generation communications technology would transmit information wirelessly at very high speeds. Because the crystal mimics what happens when light passes through black holes and other ultra-dense space objects, the new technique could also be used to study quantum gravity. (The theory of quantum gravity would combine quantum mechanics and Einstein’s theory of relativity.)
According to the theory of relativity, light and other electromagnetic waves are affected by gravitational forces. This is called gravitational lensing, and astronomers use it to study massive space objects, such as quasars.
It is difficult to create such an effect in a laboratory setting due to the enormous mass required, but scientists have long suspected that the phenomenon could be simulated using crystalline materials.
Researchers at Japan’s Tohoku University used photonic crystals in this experiment. Photonic crystals are so-called crystals with two or more arrangements, which arrange themselves in a grid-like pattern and are able to slow down light as it passes through them. The team gradually deformed these crystals, tearing apart the crystal lattice, then shining beams of light through the crystals and finding them to bend.
Manipulating light in this way could be a potential path for next-generation communications technologies that want to transmit information in the terahertz range, or above 100 gigahertz. (5G technology reaches 71 GHz). The researchers believe they can reach these ranges through creative manipulation of light. The new material may also have application areas in research.
On a theoretical level, the discoveries show that photonic crystals can harness the effects of gravity, opening new paths in the field of graviton physics. The graviton is the hypothetical quantum particle that mediates the force of gravity. No such particle has been observed or identified yet, and scientists have not even fully understood what such a particle could be in principle.
(Source: Live Science: https://www.livescience.com/)
