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Matter will be created from light within a year, claim scientists
Wednesday, May 21, 2014 1:11
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by Ian Sample – theguardian
In a neat demonstration of E=mc2, physicists believe they can create electrons and positrons from colliding photons
Researchers have worked out how to make matter from pure light and are drawing up plans to demonstrate the feat within the next 12 months.
The theory underpinning the idea was first described 80 years ago by two physicists who later worked on the first atomic bomb. At the time they considered the conversion of light into matter impossible in a laboratory.
But in a report published on Sunday, physicists at Imperial College London claim to have cracked the problem using high-powered lasers and other equipment now available to scientists.
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| In theory light and matter are interchangeable, but a practical demonstration was thought to be impossible. Photograph: Lawrence Manning/Corbis |
Source: http://www.riseearth.com/2014/05/matter-will-be-created-from-light.html
