London physicists have discovered how to create matter from light, something that was deemed impossible when the idea was first theorized 80 years ago.
In just one day, Imperial College London physicists were able to work out a "simple" way to physically prove a theory first devices by scientists in 1934, according to a press release issued by the college.
Gregory Breit and John Archibald Wheeler first devised the theory that it should be possible to turn light into matter by "smashing together" two particles of light (photons), to create an electron and a positron. This was the simplest method of turning light into matter ever predicted.
The calculation was determined to be "theoretically sound," but the researchers said that they didn't think anyone would ever be able to physically demonstrate their prediction, according to the release.
"What was so surprising to us was the discovery of how we can create matter directly from light using the technology that we have today in the UK," Steve Rose from the Department of Physics at Imperial College London said in a statement, according to the release. "As we are theorists we are now talking to others who can use our ideas to undertake this landmark experiment."
Research showing that for the first time ever Breit and Wheeler's theory could be proven in practice was published in Nature Photonics this week.
The new experiment would recreate a process that occurred in the first 100 seconds of the universe's creation. It is also seen in gamma ray bursts, which are considered the biggest explosions in the universe and "one of physics' greatest unsolved mysteries," according to the release.
"Although the theory is conceptually simple, it has been very difficult to verify experimentally," Oliver Pike, the lead researcher of the study, said, according to the release. "We were able to develop the idea for the collider very quickly, but the experimental design we propose can be carried out with relative ease and with existing technology."
The proposed experiment involves two key steps: First, scientists would have use a powerful high-intensity laser to speed up electrons to slightly slower than the speed of light.
Then the scientists would have to fire the electrons into a "slab of gold" in order to create a beam of photons shooting in the direction of the radiation chamber.
"While the electrons would make it through the gold slab, they would all be filtered out from the photons using a magnetic field," according to the release.
Research was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, and the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE), and was carried out in collaboration with Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik.
See Now: OnePlus 6: How Different Will It Be From OnePlus 5?
