According to a report by the British *New Scientist* website on October 16 (Beijing time), German scientists have discovered a fascinating phenomenon: using fiber optic rings, they created light pulses that appear to possess "negative mass," allowing them to self-accelerate around the rings. While this seems to defy Newton’s third law, researchers clarify that it's an illusion rather than a true violation of physics. The breakthrough could lead to faster electronic devices and more reliable communication systems.
Newton’s third law states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. If two objects collide, they push off each other in opposite directions. However, if one object had negative mass, it would accelerate in the same direction as the other, creating what scientists call a "reverse drive." This concept has been explored for decades, with NASA even considering such a mechanism in the 1990s to improve rocket propulsion. However, quantum mechanics suggests that negative mass is impossible, even for antimatter, which still has positive mass.
Now, researchers at the University of Nuremberg, led by Ulrike Pescher, have developed a way to simulate negative mass using "equivalent mass" — a property that arises when light interacts with certain materials. When photons pass through a crystal, some are reflected multiple times, causing interference and slowing the pulse down. This effect gives the light pulse an apparent mass, which can be negative depending on the shape of the wave and the crystal structure.
To observe this effect, Pescher and her team used two fiber optic rings. One ring was slightly longer than the other, causing a delay in the light traveling through it. As the pulses interacted between the rings, they created an interference pattern that gave one pulse a negative equivalent mass. This setup could help control electron movement in semiconductors, potentially boosting computer performance.
Additionally, the method could be used to manipulate the color of light in optical fibers, increasing bandwidth for photonic communications and improving display technologies like laser screens. Despite its promise, applying this technology in real-world scenarios remains a challenge. (Reporter Liu Xia)
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