Physicists Redefine Classic Experiment: Exploring Light's Dual Nature Through Time

Researchers at Imperial College London have successfully reimagined the renowned double-slit experiment, demonstrating light's dual nature as both particles and waves in time, rather than space. This groundbreaking approach could lead to new technological advancements and further understanding of fundamental physics principles.

The double-slit experiment, first conducted in 1801 by Thomas Young at the Royal Institution, established that light behaves as a wave. Subsequent studies revealed that light possesses quantum properties, acting as both a wave and as particles. These findings significantly impacted quantum physics, highlighting the dual nature of not only light but also other particles such as electrons, neutrons, and entire atoms.

Recently, a team of physicists from Imperial College London successfully executed the double-slit experiment using time-based "slits." They accomplished this by directing light through a material capable of altering its optical properties within femtoseconds (quadrillionths of a second), permitting light passage only during specific, rapidly successive moments.

Professor Riccardo Sapienza, the lead researcher from Imperial's Department of Physics, remarked, "Our experiment reveals more about the fundamental nature of light while serving as a stepping-stone to creating the ultimate materials that can minutely control light in both space and time."

Source: LiveScience; Nature Physics ( https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-023-01993-w )

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