Einstein's famous mass-energy equation E=mc2 shows the unified essence of mass and energy. It is common for us to convert quality into energy, but it has been difficult to see the process of converting energy into quality. 1934 physicist George? Gregory Brett and John? John A. Wheeler predicted the physical process that a pair of photons can produce a pair of positive and negative electrons when passing through a polarized pulsed electromagnetic field. This process is called Brett-Wheeler process. Simply put, this process can convert light into matter in the form of pure energy.

So far, only 1997 has seen the Brett-Wheeler process involving too many photons on the Stanford Linear Accelerator (SLAC). 19 in may, Oliver Pike of Imperial College London, London, and his colleagues published a paper (doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010. Based on this, we are expected to see new evidence that light can be directly converted into matter soon, thus drawing a perfect full stop for the mass-energy equation.

At present, there are seven kinds of physical processes predicted by theory, which are photons, positrons and nuclear assistance (as shown in Feynman diagram below). Except that the generation of Brett-Wheeler electron pairs is purely a process of transforming energy into particles, others are often seen in nature and laboratories. 1997 The generation of Brett-Wheeler electron pairs was first observed on SLAC, but this process involves the mixing of complex particles and photons.

While drinking coffee with his colleagues, Oliver Pike realized that the fusion scheme they were discussing might be used to generate Brett-Wheeler electron pairs, and this scheme was more direct than the original SLAC process. Parker, the scheme they designed is shown in the figure below. First, the gold disk is bombarded with high-energy electrons, producing a beam with a light intensity one billion times that of the sun, and then reaching a hollow gold ring called "hohlraum". This beam of light will produce a thermal radiation field on the inner surface of the ring, producing a beam similar to a supernova, just like a supernova in a bottle. Then, the photons emitted by the two light sources collide in the annulus, resulting in Brett-Wheeler electron-positron pairs.

Parker and his colleagues are trying to find a high-energy laser beam to carry out experiments. At present, it seems that two laboratories have this ability, one in Aldermaston, Berkshire, UK, and the other in Rochester, new york, USA. If it goes well, maybe we can see the corresponding experimental results this year. (Compile: Heart Spider)

reference data

1./science/2065438+04/05/A supernova in a bottle may help to create matter from light/

2. "Supernova in a Bottle" may help to produce matter from light.

3. Author: AK Shatrath-May 20th 2014,2:10am+0800

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