Print 21 comment(s) - last by Black69ta.. on Nov 19 at 6:02 AM

Cornell's resonating ring waveguide device could be used to act as an optical filter or switch.  (Source: Cornell Nanophotonics Group)
New optical hardware may be powered by... light?

Beams of light are handy for illumination, from the size of a flashlight down to the fine scale of modern lasers. The meat and potatoes of a beam of light is the energy of which it is composed – oscillating electric and magnetic fields. And this energy can have a profound effect on objects near it. At least on a very, very small scale.

Though all light particles have force, you needn’t worry about dodging moonbeams at night. Even all the photons streaming to Earth during the day could never hope to budge something as small a hair, let alone a human body. On a much smaller level, though, where the wavelength of the light can be matched or represented in small multiples by microscopic devices, these effects can be realized and measured.

Researchers at Cornell University have managed to harness the sucking power of a beam of light to create what could be used as an optical switch or filter from two resonating rings and a small straight wave guide tuned to a frequency of infrared light. The rings themselves resemble four-spoke wheels, mounted like semi-tractor tires on one end of a rear axle. The silicon nitride rings have a diameter of 30 microns and are mounted 190 nanometers apart. The waveguide part of the ring, or the rubber part of our tractor tires, measures a scant 3 microns.

When light passes through a waveguide that is narrower than the wavelength of the light, some or most of the beam’s energy will escape the waveguide and this energy exerts an attractive force on objects near it. With this property in mind, the researchers mounted the resonating waveguides in close proximity so that their escaping energy would attract each other. By using this method, the group was able to expand or contract the distance between the waveguides by as much as 12 nanometers – enough to change the optical properties of the device creating what could be used as an optical switch or filter for other beams of light passed through the space.

This effect may also be useful in the field of micro-electromechanical systems, where forces at the subatomic and quantum levels, such as the Casimir force, create sticky situations for tiny mechanical parts. By reversing the phase of one of the resonating rings, the forces which once pulled the rings together instead push them apart. Controlled, this could help fight “stiction” as it has been dubbed.

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RE: Slight inaccuracy
By amanojaku on 11/18/2009 11:20:40 AM , Rating: 3
Magnetism is NOT a fundamental force.


In view of special relativity, the electric and magnetic fields are two interrelated aspects of a single object, called the electromagnetic field.

In modern physics, the magnetic (and electric) fields are understood to be due to a photon field; in the language of the Standard Model the electromagnetic force is mediated by photons.

What you described is electrical conduction.

Electrical conduction is the movement of electrically charged particles through a transmission medium (electrical conductor). The movement of charge constitutes an electric current.

If you're gonna go nerd get your facts straight.

RE: Slight inaccuracy
By Alexstarfire on 11/18/2009 4:44:17 PM , Rating: 1
I can respect some Wikipedia links, but to use them as a scientific resource just isn't going to cut it even if it really is true. I recommend you find at least one serious scientific link so people don't laugh at your resources.

RE: Slight inaccuracy
By Alexstarfire on 11/18/2009 4:47:14 PM , Rating: 2
resource = source

was having a slight brain fart.

RE: Slight inaccuracy
By amanojaku on 11/18/2009 7:17:27 PM , Rating: 5
First, I stated that light is electromagnetic energy.

I continued by saying electromagnetic energy is NOT composed of electric and magnetic fields. A magnetic field is created by the movement of an electric charge, which is an intrinsic property of fundamental particles. The electric field is created by the difference in charge between particles. Therefore, the electric and magnetic fields are not components, but properties. For example, the sky IS blue, it is NOT made up of blue. Therefore, magnetism is not a fundamental force, but electromagnetism is.

I went on to say that light is the only electromagnetic force that is not affected by electric or magnetic fields.

I mistakenly said there is a "misconception of electricity being faster than light". I meant to say "misconception of light being faster than electricity", as seen in the "UTP vs. Fibre" ethernet wars. Since light is EM energy, EM energy travels at the speed of light, and electricity is the propogation of the eletric field, it is logical to assume, and mathematically proven, that electricity in a vacuum travels at the speed of light.

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