Overturning the fundamental belief that light is purely energy that cannot be “shaped,” researchers have transformed light into a supersolid. Using a semiconductor (gallium arsenide) and laser light, they created “polaritons”—hybrid particles of light and matter. These particles condensed into a state that is simultaneously a solid and a superfluid. It has a rigid, crystalline structure (like a solid) but flows with zero friction (like a liquid). This “solid light” blurs the line between radiation and matter and could revolutionize how we transmit information and design optical circuits.
Source:ScienceAlert / Nature Physics
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