Thanks to scientific advancements, humans on a planet in a galaxy not so far away have developed a device that bears a striking resemblance to the famous lightsaber that everyone knows from the Star Wars film franchise. What used to be science fiction is now starting to become a reality, due to the hard work being done by professors at MIT and Harvard. The technology is still being developed, making it hard to tell exactly what these tools will be able to do, but they are sure to be very cool and will definitely excite all of the Star Wars fans out there.
The new development was done by a scientist at MIT, helping to develop real life lightsaber molecules. He says the discovery could lead to amazing scientific advancements. The words scientist and lightsaber being used in the same sentence will certainly intrigue anyone who is a fan of the popular film franchise and we will all stay tuned to find out more. Vladan Vuleti, a physics professor at MIT said “We use laser beams and shine them in from 6 sides and these laser beams actually cool the atoms.” He has been able to bind together those light particles, or photons into a single molecule, according to CBS Boston.
Scientists find a way to create a real-life lightsaber. Police are expecting a sharp rise in Jedi-on-Empire violence.
— ThisHourHas22Minutes (@22_Minutes) September 27, 2013
MIT and Harvard Just Made a Real Lightsaber. So That’s Done. http://t.co/9NgWDDzCLp
— Kelsye (@Kelsye) September 27, 2013
The scientists have in fact discovered a new form of matter that works just like the lightsabers in Star Wars. CNET states that, when the researchers fired a few photons into a vacuum chamber with a cloud of extremely cold rubidium atoms to take advantage of an effect called a Rydberg blockade, the photons started getting close together and even left the chamber together as the first “photonic molecule.” It is the bond between these two particles that creates the new matter. Mikhail Lukin, a physics professor at Harvard, says that “The physics of what’s happening in these molecules is similar to what we see in the movies.”
Scientists develop lightsaber molecules, and our job on Earth is done http://t.co/5sOUNYttzb
— Uday Chopra (@udaychopra) September 26, 2013
There is no mention of turning this new tool into a weapon in comparison with the lightsaber in Star Wars, but Lukin also suggests the breakthrough could one day lead to technologies that allow for the creation of complex 3D structures, like crystals, made out of light.
Star Wars geeks shall celebrate the victory, as lightsabers will no longer be simply a thing of science fiction.
Image via Youtube