Solid light

Solid light is a hypothetical material, made of light in a solidified state. Theoretically, it is possible to make such a material,^[1][2] and there are claims this material was already made,^[3][4] including claims from MIT and Harvard.^[5][6]

Theory

In theory, photons, the particles that make light, could be attracted in a nonlinear medium. In test, a laser beam fired into an extremely cold cloud of rubidium slowed down the photons and made them act as a single entity.^[7][8]

Fiction

Solid light appears in video game franchises, including Halo,^[9] Portal and Mass Effect.

References

1. "Could Light Behave As A Solid? A New Theory", ScienceDaily, University of Melbourne, 7 May 2007. Retrieved on 30 January 2016.
2. Raftery, J.; Sadri, D.; Schmidt, S.; Türeci, H. E.; Houck, A. A. "Observation of a Dissipation-Induced Classical to Quantum Transition", API Physics, Phys. Rev. X 4, 031043. Published on 8 September 2014. Retrieved on 30 January 2016.
3. Zolfagharifard, Ellie."Have scientists accidentally created a lightsaber? New form of matter discovered that has only ever been used in science-fiction", Daily Mail, 26 September 2013. Retrieved on 30 January 2016.
4. Freeman, David."Scientists Say They've Created A Freaky New Form Of Light", The Huffington Post, 16 September 2014. Retrieved on 30 January 2016.
5. Reuell, Peter. "Seeing light in a new way", Harvard Gazette, 27 September 2013. Retrieved on 30 January 2016.
6. "MIT, Harvard scientists accidentally create real-life lightsaber"Fox News, 29 September 2013. Retrieved on 30 January 2016.
7. Firstenberg, Ofer; Peyronel, Thibault; Liang, Qi-Yu; Gorshkov, Alexey V.; Lukin, Mikhail D.; Vuletić, Vladan. "Attractive photons in a quantum nonlinear medium", Nature, 25 September 2013. Retrieved on January 30 2016.
8. Emspak, Jesse. "'Solid Light' Made from Photons", Discovery News, 27 September 2013. Retrieved on 30 January 2016.
9. https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/weapons/light-rifle