2012 Nobel Prize: How Do We See Light?
What was the 2012 Nobel Prize in physics given for? Capturing a single photon of light! Congrats to Serge Haroche and David Wineland http://translate.minutephysics.com MinutePhysics is on...
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In order for us to see something, it either needs to emit light directly (like the sunor a lightbulb filament or firefly) or else have photons of light bounce off of it andinto our eyes.But how do we see light itself? You can't bounce light off of light (just like you can'tbounce slinky waves or ripples in the water off of each other - they just pass right through!),plus, if you "look" at a photon of light in the normal everyday way, that means your eyeor camera or photodetector will absorb it - and then it's gone. Destroyed! Annihilated!It's like if you want to test how much weight a bridge can support before it falls down…once you've done your measurement, you have the information you wanted but you no longerha...
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In order for us to see something, it either needs to emit light directly (like the sunor a lightbulb filament or firefly) or else have photons of light bounce off of it andinto our eyes.But how do we see light itself? You can't bounce light off of light (just like you can'tbounce slinky waves or ripples in the water off of each other - they just pass right through!),plus, if you "look" at a photon of light in the normal everyday way, that means your eyeor camera or photodetector will absorb it - and then it's gone. Destroyed! Annihilated!It's like if you want to test how much weight a bridge can support before it falls down…once you've done your measurement, you have the information you wanted but you no longerha...
