Stopping Light in Air: Myth or Reality?

In summary, according to @Ramazan Duzgun, it is possible to stop light in air if you are using a frame of reference in which the Earth is moving near the speed of light.
  • #1
Ramazan Duzgun
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is it possible, i mean can we hold it at a certain distance we want ?
 
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  • #2
Hello Ramazan, :welcome:

What kind of air are you thinking of ?
 
  • #3
BvU said:
Hello Ramazan, :welcome:

What kind of air are you thinking of ?
i consider it inside of the atmosphere, on earth. But in vacuum i guess it doesn't matter. Light can travel in both mediums, right?
 
  • #4
Yes, it definitely can.
My question was more if you consider fog and rain as air.

Light gets scattered by air molecules, but that's not really 'holding it at a certain distance'.

Actually stopping a ray of light isn't really possible without putting something in its way, to absorb it.
 
  • #5
BvU said:
Yes, it definitely can.
My question was more if you consider fog and rain as air.

Light gets scattered by air molecules, but that's not really 'holding it at a certain distance'.

Actually stopping a ray of light isn't really possible without putting something in its way, to absorb it.
How can you say that isn't really possible ? what do you relly on ? can you show me any proof of it..thank you btw
 
  • #6
Ramazan Duzgun said:
How can you say that isn't really possible ? what do you relly on ? can you show me any proof of it.
Light is an electromagnetic wave that behaves according to Maxwell's equations. These equations do not allow "standing still" as a solution.
(There is such a thing as a "standing wave", but that doesn;t sound like what you're thinking of).
 
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  • #7
Ramazan Duzgun said:
How can you say that isn't really possible ? what do you relly on ? can you show me any proof of it..thank you btw
We receive light from galaxies billions of light years away, and the CMBR from even further.

We see it as long as there isn’t anything between us and the distant galaxy to absorb the light, as @BvU stated
 
  • #8
Ramazan Duzgun said:
How can you say that isn't really possible ? what do you relly on ?

We're relying on the laws of physics, which are consistent with every observation made and every experiment ever performed.

If you were to ask this question in some place other than a physics forum you may get a different answer. But when you ask in a physics forum the answers are based on physics.
 
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  • #9
Ramazan Duzgun said:
i consider it inside of the atmosphere, on earth. But in vacuum i guess it doesn't matter. Light can travel in both mediums, right?

What I want to know is if you are simply focusing on just regular, ordinary, atmospheric air, or do you also include ANY gas phase. Lene Hau has stopped light in Na gas back in... what, 2001? Not only that, she managed to hold it for some time, and then "released" it back!

Or did you miss this news?

Zz.
 
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  • #10
Ramazan Duzgun said:
is it possible, i mean can we hold it at a certain distance we want ?

Just let the air move with the corresponding speed in the opposite direction in this distance.
 
  • #11
DrStupid said:
Just let the air move with the corresponding speed in the opposite direction in this distance.
Well, the problem with that is that you can't get the air to move at the speed of light.
 
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  • #12
phinds said:
Well, the problem with that is that you can't get the air to move at the speed of light.
The speed of light in air is slightly less than c. So the possibility exists to get some "air" moving very close to c one way and shoot light through it in the opposite direction.

Easier yet, shine a flashlight at the wall and adopt a frame of reference in which the Earth is already moving near c. Bingo, light stopped in air.
 
  • #13
@Ramazan Duzgun : does any of this help you ? (other than showing multi-interpretability of your original question :wink: )
 

1. Can a light beam really stop in air?

It is a common misconception that light beams can stop in air. In reality, light is constantly moving at a constant speed of approximately 299,792,458 meters per second in a vacuum. While light can slow down when passing through certain materials, such as water or glass, it cannot stop completely in air.

2. Why does light slow down in some materials?

Light slows down when passing through materials due to the interactions between the photons (particles of light) and the atoms in the material. These interactions cause the light to be absorbed and re-emitted, resulting in a slower overall speed for the light as it travels through the material.

3. Can light stop in a vacuum?

No, light cannot stop in a vacuum. A vacuum is a space completely devoid of matter, and light needs matter to interact with in order to slow down. Therefore, light will always continue to travel at its constant speed in a vacuum.

4. Is it possible to create a material where light can stop?

Currently, there is no known material that can completely stop light. However, scientists have been able to slow down light to an incredibly low speed (around 17 meters per second) by passing it through a specially designed material called a Bose-Einstein condensate. This is the closest we have come to creating a material where light can stop.

5. What would happen if light did stop in air?

If light were to stop in air, it would violate the laws of physics. As mentioned earlier, light needs matter to interact with in order to slow down. If light were to stop, it would essentially cease to exist as photons and would no longer be able to interact with anything. This would have major implications for the functioning of our universe as we know it.

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