Physicists have discovered a new property of light that not only spirals but also changes its winding density. The discovery has opened up new possibilities for the study and application of this new property of light. A team of scientists led by Laura Rego from the Grupo de Investigación en Aplicaciones del Láser y Fotónica, Departamento de Física Aplicada, Universität von Salamanca, announced their findings in the journal Science. The team worked with the JILA research center in Colorado, USA, to demonstrate that the orbital angular momentum (OAM) of light can be varied under the right conditions. The change in winding density would alter the frequency of light and produce a changing sound wave.
The team in Spain did not have the necessary equipment to conduct the experiment practically, so they turned to their colleagues in Colorado. Although the JILA team is already an expert in producing OAM light, the experiment posed a challenge. However, they managed to generate two beams of OAM light with different orbital angular momenta and bring them together in an expanding argon gas cloud at supersonic speed. As expected, a variable tone was produced, and the change in winding density was demonstrated in practice.
The discovery of the variability of the frequency of OAM light opens up new possibilities for encoding information in light and transmitting it through the air. The scientists also hope to gain further insights into fundamental physics. OAM light could be used to analyze the dynamic structure of substances and nano-molecules, contributing to the further improvement of smartphone and computer technology.
In conclusion, the discovery of the new property of light has significant implications for the field of physics and technology. The ability to vary the frequency of OAM light opens up new possibilities for encoding and transmitting information. The study of the dynamic structure of substances and nano-molecules using OAM light could lead to further advancements in technology.
