Physicists prove long-held theory light can be made from nothingness of vacuum
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How physicists made ‘light from darkness’ with longheld vacuum theory
- Oxford University physicists have simulated how intense laser beams can alter vacuum, recreating a quantum physics phenomenon where vacuum is not empty but full of temporary particle pairs.
- Classical physics suggests light beams pass through each other undisturbed, but quantum mechanics posits that vacuum is filled with fleeting particles that scatter light.
- Simulations detailed in Communications Physics recreated a phenomenon where three focused laser pulses alter virtual particles in vacuum, generating a fourth laser beam in a 'light from darkness' process.
- The simulation used software called OSIRIS to model interactions between laser beams and matter, revealing that intense laser beams can agitate virtual particles and cause light particles to scatter.
- Physicists aim to conduct real-world laser experiments to confirm this quantum phenomenon, with the simulation potentially paving the way for studying hypothetical dark matter particles like axions and millicharged particles.