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2 years ago in Physics By Reno

Can we store light?

This isn't about batteries, but about photons themselves. I'm working on quantum memory systems for a photonic computing project. Colleagues often use the term "light storage," but I need to clarify the physical principles behind what that actually entails at a fundamental level.

 

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By Rupert Answered 1 year ago

In practical terms, we don't store photons like objects in a box. What we do is transfer their information or state into a material medium. I've worked with systems using Electromagnetically Induced Transparency (EIT) in cold atomic gases. Here, we dramatically slow a light pulse even bringing it to a halt by mapping its quantum state onto collective atomic excitations. Later, we regenerate the pulse. So, while the original photons are absorbed, their perfect copy is "stored" and retrieved. It's a transfer of quantum information, not the photons themselves.

 

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