Trapped Light Creates Strong Magnetic Fields Without Magnets

Topic: Physics

Researchers at Cornell University used a special surface to trap light and create strong magnetic fields without using magnets. This breakthrough could improve technologies like spintronics, quantum computing, and data storage.

Scientists at Cornell University have discovered a new way to generate strong static magnetic fields using trapped light. They created a metasurface that traps mid-infrared light and used it to create a time interface. A time interface is when the properties of the light change suddenly, causing some of the light to be reflected and some to pass through.

The researchers wondered what would happen if they shone intense near-infrared light on the metasurface while the mid-infrared light was still trapped inside. Their computer simulations showed that this would create a time interface for the trapped light. This interface causes some of the light's energy to shift into new red-shifted light waves, and the rest is trapped as kinetic energy in circulating electrons.

This magnetization persists for about 300 femtoseconds, or three trillionths of a second. While this may seem very short, it's actually long enough to create a strong magnetic field. The researchers believe that their discovery could lead to new technologies like spintronics, quantum computing, and data storage.

Why It Matters

This breakthrough could improve the efficiency and speed of technologies like computers and smartphones, which rely on magnetic fields to store and process information.

Key Facts

• Researchers at Cornell University used a metasurface to trap light and create strong magnetic fields without magnets.
• The time interface created by the near-infrared light causes some of the light's energy to shift into new red-shifted light waves, and the rest is trapped as kinetic energy in circulating electrons.
• This magnetization persists for about 300 femtoseconds, or three trillionths of a second.
• The researchers believe that their discovery could lead to new technologies like spintronics, quantum computing, and data storage.
• Shivaksh Rawat, a Ph.D. candidate at Cornell University, led the research team.

Key Terms

Metasurface

A specially designed surface that can trap light and manipulate its properties

Time interface

When the properties of light change suddenly, causing some of it to be reflected and some to pass through

Implications

This breakthrough could improve the efficiency and speed of technologies like computers and smartphones, which rely on magnetic fields to store and process information.