The FLASH XASER: Massive Laser Unplugs Einstein
At the end of the nineteenth century scientists thought they had all the answers. They were spectacularly wrong, demonstrated by "The Ultraviolet Catasptrophe": a light experiment which simply couldn't be explained by the science of the day. This lead to quantum mechanics, the particle-wave duality of light, and an entire new mode of science - which we've just broken again with a massive laser!
The explanation of the ultraviolet catastrophe was the photon, the idea that light had a minimum unit whose energy was determined by its color - so in certain circumstances, you could shine as much red light as you wanted on something but no one photon would ever have enough energy to knock out an electron. Instead you needed a higher frequency photon, one of which could knock out an electron (this was called the photoelectric effect). Now scientists have used a German X-ray überlaser to blow Xenon atoms to pieces, and we need a new model again.
One reason this effect hasn't been observed before is the intensity of the X-ray radiation: the FLASH XASER (which sounds like it should be battling Ming the Merciless) delivers ten quadrillion Watts of X-ray per square centimeter. At the surface of the sun you barely get twenty thousand watts, and that's wimpy regular light. This massive intensity obliterates the Xenon atoms in an entirely new way - instead of knocking off one of the easy outer electrons, as in the photoelectric effect, the ultra-xaser blasts electrons out of the inner layers of the atom. Other electrons then collapse into the holes, releasing more energy which knocks even more electrons off. The imploding-exploding atoms can lose over twenty electrons at once, thereby blowing previous models to pieces.
People first thought that light was a wave. The photoelectric effect convinced some it must also be a particle, and now the mega-blaster says it's actually a wave again - instead of firing photons at the Xenon like a bunch of cannonballs, the huge field intensity can resonate with the atom and fire out deeply buried electrons (and lots of them at once). Scientists are currently working out what's going on and, we imagine, giggling with glee as they wonder what they'll detonate next.
One thing's for sure: scientists will never be bored. If you eat something it goes away, if you spend money you have less, but if you enjoy learning things you'll always find that there's more you don't know. Yet.
Posted by Luke McKinney
Not exactly... quantum mechanics states that light photons can act both as waves and as particles. we just don't know all the circumstances and criteria for which form is used in every scenario. nice post!
Posted by: Chrystine | May 08, 2009 at 02:28 PM
Interesting, but I have to agree with Chrystine, this doesn't really blow the previous model(s) "to pieces" or require a new one, just a specific formulation within the model. It seems pretty intuitive that if a weak light can resonate with outer electrons, a strong one can do so with inner ones, from which it would follow that many electrons would seemingly have to be affected at once.
Posted by: Kyle | May 10, 2009 at 01:04 AM
The Photon comes out at any quantic jump (leap) of an electron from its orbit to another orbit of the atom.
This is predicted by the theory.
On the other side an electromagnetic wave with sufficient intensity and operating at certain wavelengths when hits an atom is able to generate a quantic leap (or jump)that is the electron of a ceratin orbit jumps to another less energy demanding orbit.
I also agree with Christine in one basic point "how the particle carrying the force (photon for electromagnetic wave at certain lambdas)relates and works with the force (the electromagnetic wave) Far from atoms and electron orbitals....is NOT well known.
I would guess that in the Photoelectric mechanism the electron that was orbiting the atom when hit by a proper EM wave gets free (out of the orbital of the atom) and this generate a voltage (tension) and the mechanism it is is commonly used to generate electric current...as in the Photovoltaic cells (PVC).
How the EM waves and photons interact within a fiber optic cable we also do not know very well.
Normally a Coherent Laser with a germanium lens is used at certain wavelenghts (e.g 1300nm..or 1550nm)to concentrate the Communication Laser beam in a narrow angle to enter the Micrometers diametre silica fiber within a FO communication cable.
As you can see The interaction of Photons and EM-waves is far from being completely known as of TODAY.
The article is nice BUT in spite of the High power german laser and the very-very powerful Lasers already used to hit and take down the Ballistic missiles.....and the lasers commonly used to precisely cut steel metals this interaction "particle carrying the force and the force" is NOT YET well known.
Therefore I agree that the poor scientists of early 1900 were kind of confused about EM-waves and Photons...we are still somewhat confused...as we do not exactly know the in depth mechanisms of interaction.
Regards to the german Laser mentioned in the article...that however does NOT surprise us much.
By the way The term "knoking down" an electron...is NOT clear.
NOTHING in this universe would be capable of destroying an Electron ...may be only a 'positron' that has nothing to do with Lasers.
Posted by: claudio | May 10, 2009 at 09:54 AM
Luke McKinney,
You are a terrible science writer. to much over dramatic zazz and not enough information. that last paragraph almost made me puke with how cute it is. i know you're trying to get the human race proud of itself again or something but this is not barbie, this is science.
Posted by: anonymous | May 10, 2009 at 07:05 PM