As established by quantum mechanics,light can behave both as a wave and as a particle. For example, when ultraviolet radiation reaches a metal surface, an emission of electrons occurs. For Albert Einstein, this “photoelectric effect” demonstrated that light was not only a wave, but also showed a nature of particles. Now, a team of researchers from the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne (EPFL), in Switzerland, coordinated by physicist Fabrizio Carbone, has managed to obtain for the first time a snapshot of light working at the same time in both ways.
In an article published in the magazine Nature Communications, these experts explain the process that has allowed them to achieve it. In essence, they fired a laser beam at a metallic nanofilament, a tiny wire through which light moves in two directions, adding energy to the charged particles in it and causing them to vibrate.When waves traveling in opposite directions met, a new wave formed that remained motionless around the nanofilament.. The researchers then fired a jet of electrons near it. As they interacted with the radiation confined in the cable, their speed increased or decreased.
When Carbone’s group used the microscope to determine the position where this change in velocity took place,they were able to visualize the wave around the nanofilament.Also, when the electrons passed close to the wave they came into contact with the photons, which affected their speed. The change in it is shown as aenergy exchange between electrons and photons, which for scientists shows that the light in the nanofilament also behaves like a particle.
“Our experiment proves that we can film quantum mechanics and its paradoxical nature. Thiswill open new avenues of research in the development of quantum computing”Says Carbone.
Photography: Fabrizio Carbone
