2/18/99 – Scientists slow light to a crawl
BOSTON (AP) – Scientists have managed to slow down light so much that if it were a car on a highway, it could get a ticket for not getting over to the right-hand lane. The speed of light is normally about 186,000 miles per second, or fast enough to go around the world seven times in the wink of eye. Scientists succeeded in slowing it down to 38 mph. They did this by shooting a laser through extremely cold sodium atoms, which worked like “optical molasses” to slow the light down. While slow-speed light now is just a laboratory plaything for top physicists, Lene Vestergaard Hau, the Danish scientist who led the project, said practical applications could be a few years away. She envisions improved communications technology, switches, even night-vision devices.
As far as I can determine, there has been no further public news on this since the announcement in 1999. Seems a little unusual given the fantastic nature of this feat.
Slowing down is mentioned often in spiritual, martial arts and other physical disciplines. In a world full of compulsive acting out, adrenaline and stimulus addiction, and ADDHD – slowing down might be just the ticket to a saner brighter world.
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