38 mph? Maybe 38 mps (per second). At any rate, I wonder if such a technology could be used to control the wavelength of the light which in turn might make it possible to cure different areas to different properties.
Michael W Miller (Mike.Miller3@PSS.Boeing.com)
The Boeing Company MS 17-PE B-XT62
Propulsion Experimental Hardware 206-655-3289
Rapid Prototyping 655-4366 Lab 655-4365
> ----------
> From: Monica & Glenn Whiteside[SMTP:SiderWhite@worldnet.att.net]
> Reply To: Monica & Glenn Whiteside
> Sent: Sunday, February 21, 1999 4:31 PM
> To: Rapid Prototype Mailing List
> Subject: Slow speed light and possible RP laser control implications?
>
> Just read a very interesting article where a group of physicists at Rowland
> Institute for Science at Cambridge and Harvard University were able to slow
> the speed of light to a leisurely 38 mph by shooting a laser through
> extremely cold (-459.67 degrees below zero) sodium atoms (this high density
> group of atoms is called a Bose-Einstein condensate) which worked like
> "optical molasses" to slow the light down. The lead researcher, a Danish
> physicist named Lene Vestergaard Hau, envisioned improved communications
> technology, televison displays, even night-vision devices. The scientists
> believe it is possible to slow it 1,000 times further - to a crawl.
>
> I'm wondering what the implications of this would be to the RP industry,
> especialliy how it relates to the control of laser light used in processes
> like stereolithography. Would this also enable a more precise and accurate
> control of UV and/or infrared energy? Especially for creating extremely
> fine details? Speed up the laser for certain features and slow it down for
> others? Any further thoughts or ideas on this?
>
> Best Regards,
>
> Glenn Whiteside
>
>
>
> For more information about the rp-ml, see http://ltk.hut.fi/rp-ml/
>
For more information about the rp-ml, see http://ltk.hut.fi/rp-ml/
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : Tue Jun 05 2001 - 22:51:01 EEST