New research published today seeks to push the discovery that light can be tied in knots to the next level. Dr Anton Desyatnikov from the Nonlinear Physics Centre at The Australian National University is part of an international team of scientists who are designing knots in light, with potential applications in advanced modern optics, laser beams and even quantum computing. Using concepts from mathematics and physics the model Dr Desyatnikov and his colleagues have explored creates optical vortices with dark cores in a bright laser beam, that can then tangle and form links and knots. “Apart from their curiosity value, what’s really interesting and useful about these knots of darkness is that they show you what the power flow is doing,” Dr Desyatnikov said. “It is part of the incredible progress science is making in the field of optics, we’re beginning to do things with light that would have once seemed impossible.” (via Beautiful physics: Tying knots in light)

University of Adelaide applied mathematicians have extended Einstein’s theory of special relativity to work beyond the speed of light. Einstein’s theory holds that nothing could move faster than the speed of light, but Professor Jim Hill and Dr Barry Cox in the University’s School of Mathematical Sciences have developed new formulas that allow for travel beyond this limit. Einstein’s Theory of Special Relativity was published in 1905 and explains how motion and speed is always relative to the observer’s frame of reference. The theory connects measurements of the same physical incident viewed from these different points in a way that depends on the relative velocity of the two observers. “Since the introduction of special relativity there has been much speculation as to whether or not it might be possible to travel faster than the speed of light, noting that there is no substantial evidence to suggest that this is presently feasible with any existing transportation mechanisms,” said Professor Hill. “About this time last year, experiments at CERN, the European centre for particle physics in Switzerland, suggested that perhaps neutrinos could be accelerated just a very small amount faster than the speed of light; at this point we started to think about how to deal with the issues from both a mathematical and physical perspective.

Extending Einstein’s theory beyond light speed | e! Science News

Silicon chips that exploit the unique properties of quantum physics could be common components in laptops and smart phones within a few years, say scientists. British-led technology is set to revolutionise computing using circuits that operate with light instead of electricity, it is claimed. For the first time, they will offer a practical way of harnessing subatomic interactions so strange they spooked Albert Einstein. (via Is the Quantum iPhone around the corner? Researchers claim radical new gadgets could be on sale ‘within a decade’ | Mail Online)

Researchers have clocked light beams made of “twisted” waves carrying 2.5 terabits of data – the capacity of more than 66 DVDs – per second. The technique relies on manipulating what is known as the orbital angular momentum of the waves. Recent work suggests that the trick could vastly boost the data-carrying capacity in wi-fi and optical fibres. The striking demonstration of the approach, reported in Nature Photonics, is likely to lead to even higher rates. Angular momentum is a slippery concept when applied to light, but an analogy closer to home is the Earth itself. Our planet has “spin angular momentum” because it spins on its axis, and “orbital angular momentum” because it is also revolving around the Sun. (via BBC News – ‘Twisted light’ carries 2.5 terabits of data per second)

It seems crazy today that the public infrastructure to support our data-hogging smartphones, tablets and laptops is so limited. That’s why Douglas Coupland created the V-Pole. Think of it as a smart street light equipped with an LED light bulb and capable of providing Wi-Fi, improving cellphone service and charging electric cars. It would even feature a touchscreen where people could pay for parking or stop and get directions. V-Pole stands for “Vancouver pole,” as it’s currently being considered by Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson. Why would Robertson invest thousands of dollars per V-Pole when Vancouver already has street lights? (via Street Light of the Future Would Provide Wi-Fi, Cell Coverage and More | Techland | TIME.com)

Researchers have trapped a rainbow – slowing light to a near-stop – in an array of 25,000 “invisibility cloaks”, each smaller than a hair’s breadth. A report in the New Journal of Physics shows how the quest for an invisibility cloak is leading to cleverer ways to use and manipulate light. The trick could aid the analysis of complex samples or even communications. In recent years, a number of research efforts has demonstrated a wide range of cloaking techniques. Light can either be guided around or cancelled by a material that makes an object invisible to an observer. For the most part, such cloaks have been tiny or limited in the range of colours or angles of light they work with. Nevertheless, this kind of engineering of light and the paths it takes has in principle a great many applications besides invisibility. (via BBC News – ‘Cloaking’ idea traps a rainbow)

Frizions: Making art from ice and polarised light

clipped from www.newscientist.com These images are frizions. They were all created by NASA scientist Peter Wasilewski. A selection of frizions is currently on display at the Alaska State Museum in Juneau, Alaska. Frozen sun Rather than painting on canvas like most artists, Peter Wasilewski paints with polarised light on ice. clipped from www.newscientist.com Devana chasma To do this, Wasilewski takes a Petri dish of ice in the process of freezing. He then sandwiches it between two polarising filters (similar to those in your sunglasses) and passes white light through it. clipped from www.newscientist.com The first filter polarises the light, causing all the rays to vibrate in the same plane… clipped from www.newscientist.com …but light in this plane cannot travel through the lattice structure of the ice, so it is forced to split into 2 rays, oriented at right angles to each other… clipped from www.newscientist.com a process known as birefringence clipped from www.newscientist.com These 2 rays travel at different velocities through the ice clipped from www.newscientist.com Plumage clipped from www.newscientist.com Deep wort clipped from www.newscientist.com Burble gradient clipped from www.newscientist.com only the ice found on Earth is known to have the correct lattice structure to produce a frizion. clipped from www.newscientist.com