When a weak intensity and high intensity beam are aimed at a liquid crystal valve, the output pulse is split into different diffracted pulses, each showing a different group velocity. The images above demonstrate image delay: image (a) is an original image imposed on the input pulse, and image (b) is the image from an output pulse delayed by several milliseconds.Using pioneering research done by Havard's Lene Hau and Ronald Walsworth to slow light to a crawl (using supercooled rubidium gas & two lasers), scientists now have done the same thing using liquid crystals operating at room temperature. Because the form factor is small and the tech is mature, the impact this research will have on all things digital will be profound.
Optical computing/storage/networking, interferometry (Click on the image above to see how interferometers work.) and last but not least, image delay... They imposed a 1-cm2 image on the low-intensity beam for a pulse duration of 180 milliseconds, and illuminated the image with the high-intensity beam. The output beams showed that the image was delayed by 82 milliseconds as it traveled through the liquid crystal. The image, which had a spatial resolution of 15 micrometers, appeared without any significant distortion due to the crystal’s homogeneity.
Through the Looking Glass & What Alice Found There - Louis Carroll
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