Physicists at Harvard have designed quantum triggers that can be activated by a single photon. From a technical standpoint, it’s a remarkable accomplishment. Conceptually, the idea is very simple: Push the conventional light switch to its ultimate limit. What we’ve done here is to use a single atom as a switch that, depending on its state, can open or close the flow of photons … and it can be turned on and off using a single photon. Full paper: arxiv.org/pdf/1404.5615v1.pdf
Posted on: Mon, 05 May 2014 23:49:55 +0000