Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Possible Observation of Hawking Radiation In A Lab?

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This is rather fascinating, and certainly important if it is valid.

Using just an optical system, a group is reporting an observation of a Hawking radiation-like radiation.

To create the Hawking radiation, the scientists fired ultrashort (1-picosecond) laser pulses at transparent glass, which excited an RIP that exhibited an event horizon. Using a CCD camera, the researchers detected a peculiar kind of photon emission at a 90-degree angle to the glass. As the researchers explained, they arranged the experiment in a way to strongly suppress or eliminate other types of radiation, such as Cerenkov-like radiation, four wave mixing, self-phase modulation, Rayleigh scattering, and fluorescence.

Amazing what you can accomplish in a lab, isn't it? :)

Zz.

2 comments:

Edward said...

The refractive index is a macroscopic quantity. At the microscopic level there should not be an event horizon.

S.D said...

I'm wondering if they are physically comparable.