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The Dark Side of Light
Physorg.com ^
| February 19, 2008
| Lisa Zyga
Posted on 02/20/2008 7:06:30 AM PST by EarthBound
Light may not seem very interesting in our everyday lives. But to scientists, lights properties are a constant source of intrigue. The nature of light as both wave and particle, light as the universal speed limit, and the way light interacts with magnetic fields in the atmosphere to form auroras are a just a few examples of lights fascinating behavior.
Recently, researchers from the University of Glasgow and the University of Bristol in the UK have discovered another unusual property of light or, more accurately, the darkness within light. As the researchers explain, natural light fields are threaded by lines of darkness, which create optical vortices that appear as black points within the light. The group has modeled this phenomenon, and found that the lines of darkness exhibit fractal properties with Brownian (random) characteristics. Further, the characteristics of these optical vortices suggest universal properties, which could help connect different areas of physics.
(Excerpt) Read more at physorg.com ...
TOPICS: News/Current Events; Philosophy
KEYWORDS: energy; light; physics; physorg; stringtheory
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An extremely interesting find, one with possilby universal implications!
To: MacDorcha; SunkenCiv
May be of interest to y’all.
2
posted on
02/20/2008 7:07:08 AM PST
by
EarthBound
(Ex Deo,gratia. Ex astris,scientia (Who the hell do I vote for now?))
To: EarthBound; Physicist
To: martin_fierro
But only in a good way, of course. ;)
4
posted on
02/20/2008 7:14:29 AM PST
by
EarthBound
(Ex Deo,gratia. Ex astris,scientia (Who the hell do I vote for now?))
To: EarthBound
Many people have noticed the phenomenon of laser speckle, which occurs when coherent, monochromatic laser light bounces off a rough surface, giving the surface a speckled appearance. The black specks are interference patterns generated by a superposition of highly coherent light waves reflected from different points on the rough surface. So is this fractal pattern a feature of the light, or is it a feature of the surface the laser is reflected from? How much does this pattern change if you are reflecting off something with a regular surface pattern in the same general size of the light's wavelength, for example a diffraction grid?
5
posted on
02/20/2008 7:22:59 AM PST
by
KarlInOhio
(Rattenschadenfreude: joy at a Democrat's pain, especially Hillary's pain caused by Obama.)
To: EarthBound
“the way light interacts with magnetic fields in the atmosphere to form auroras”
Wait, what? Whoever wrote this article is obviously somewhat less than an expert on the subject.
6
posted on
02/20/2008 7:23:29 AM PST
by
eclecticEel
(oh well, Hunter 2012 anyone?)
To: EarthBound
The old yang-within-yin song!
To: EarthBound
Thank you for posting this. Ping for later read.
8
posted on
02/20/2008 7:26:11 AM PST
by
StatenIsland
(The '08 Election: It's about the survival of our country, not making a point...)
To: EarthBound
it can no doubt be attributed to global warming.
9
posted on
02/20/2008 7:40:43 AM PST
by
beethovenfan
(If Islam is the solution, the "problem" must be freedom.)
To: EarthBound
10
posted on
02/20/2008 7:40:51 AM PST
by
tophat9000
(:[....)
To: EarthBound
I understood “of,” “and,” and “the.”
To: All
The responses so far are hilarious! Keep ‘em comin’
12
posted on
02/20/2008 8:27:33 AM PST
by
EarthBound
(Ex Deo,gratia. Ex astris,scientia (Who the hell do I vote for now?))
To: martin_fierro; Tijeras_Slim
This is why you should never screw a lightbulb in backwards.
13
posted on
02/20/2008 8:30:47 AM PST
by
CougarGA7
(Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.)
To: EarthBound
So just like our attempts at displaying the world accurately “flicker”... so does the real world.
What happens when you degausse? LSD?
14
posted on
02/20/2008 8:32:57 AM PST
by
MacDorcha
("Anyone but McCain" will work about as well as "Anyone but Bush" (and for the same reasons))
To: EarthBound
15
posted on
02/20/2008 8:33:55 AM PST
by
dragonblustar
(Once abolish the God, and the government becomes the God - G. K. Chesterton)
To: CougarGA7; martin_fierro
![](http://www.global-b2b-network.com/direct/dbimage/50070669/Black_Light_Bulb.jpg)
I never knew it had cosmic implications, I thought it was just cool with the Hendrix and Jefferson Airplane posters I had.
To: Tijeras_Slim
![](http://www.geocities.com/serenadetx/images/elvis01.jpg)
Not to mention your velvet Elvis painting.
17
posted on
02/20/2008 8:39:56 AM PST
by
CougarGA7
(Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.)
To: EarthBound
would that mean the dark lines are anti-light?
18
posted on
02/20/2008 8:51:08 AM PST
by
jusduat
(I am a strange and recurring anomaly)
To: EarthBound
19
posted on
02/20/2008 9:35:30 AM PST
by
LucyT
To: EarthBound
That is, indeed, interesting...
20
posted on
02/20/2008 9:44:51 AM PST
by
TXnMA
("Allah": Satan's current alias...)
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