Tying Light In Knots

Bingoscience.blogspot.com

According to everything we know, light is supposed to move in straight lines. Apparently, someone wanted to change that. Scientists from the Universities of Glasgow, Bristol, and Southampton were the first ones to tie light into knots, something that was only thought of as an abstract mathematical concept before. These knots were created using holograms, which directed the flow of light around areas of darkness using knot theory, a branch of math inspired by knots in real life.

One of the lead researchers explains light as a river that can go straight as well as in whirlpools. The holograms were specially constructed and controlled by computers. Apparently, you can also bend your own light beam into a knot if you have their hologram. The findings go a long way in demonstrating that the future of optics will be anything but boring.