Solid light

Solid light, often referred to in media as "hard light" or "hard-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] including claims from MIT and Harvard.[4][5]

Theory

In theory, photons, the particles that form electromagnetic radiation including 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.[6][7]

Fiction

Solid light appears in many video game franchises, including Halo, Portal, Destiny, Mass Effect and Overwatch.

Probably the most prominent examples of solid light are the holograms and holodecks from Star Trek: The Next Generation and it's multiple spin-offs and sequel series. Ranging from city-sized holographic environments and realistic, edible, nutritious food, to entire holographic people, with observed-sentience and individual personalities. The widespread use of holograms and replicated materials (replicators and holograms seem to share a base technology in the Star Trek universe) makes it the most widely known and advanced form of solid light represented in fiction.[8]

In "Red Dwarf" the character Rimmer is a hologram who obtains a hard light drive, allowing him to touch and feel while being almost indestructible. In Steven Universe, the Gems are a fictional alien race consisting of magical gemstones that project humanoid physical bodies made of solid light. In the webseries RWBY, the character Velvet Scarlatina uses a handheld camera to 3D print photographed weapons, made out of hard-light Dust. In DC Comics's Green Lantern, the various Lantern Corps use solid light constructs. It is also portrayed in The Lightbringer series by fantasy author Brent Weeks and in Dr. Strange.

gollark: Yes, but googling stuff about getting around censorship/monitoring...
gollark: Also, that'll probably go into some logs somewhere too.
gollark: Er, not kind of.
gollark: I'd kind of want to leave the country in your position...
gollark: You'll probably be unable to communicate outside its borders soon!

See also

References
  1. University of Melbourne (7 May 2007). "Could Light Behave As A Solid? A New Theory". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  2. Raftery, J.; Sadri, D.; Schmidt, S.; Türeci, H. E.; Houck, A. A. (8 September 2014). "Observation of a Dissipation-Induced Classical to Quantum Transition". Physical Review X. American Physical Society (APS). 4 (3): 031043. doi:10.1103/physrevx.4.031043. ISSN 2160-3308.
  3. Freeman, David (16 September 2014). "Scientists Say They've Created A Freaky New Form Of Light". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  4. Reuell, Peter (27 September 2013). "Seeing light in a new way". Harvard Gazette. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  5. Fox News (29 September 2013). "MIT, Harvard scientists accidentally create real-life lightsaber". Fox News. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  6. Firstenberg, Ofer; Peyronel, Thibault; Liang, Qi-Yu; Gorshkov, Alexey V.; Lukin, Mikhail D.; Vuletić, Vladan (25 September 2013). "Attractive photons in a quantum nonlinear medium" (PDF). Nature. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. 502 (7469): 71–75. doi:10.1038/nature12512. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 24067613.
  7. Emspak, Jesse (27 September 2013). "'Solid Light' Made from Photons". Discovery News. Archived from the original on 13 May 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  8. https://www.startrek.com/article/meet-the-man-behind-the-holodeck-part-1
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