Surprising predictions part 4

 Nothing is something after all: how scientists created matter from thin air

A long-standing scientific theory has been disproved thanks to the work of an international team of scientists that includes two Canadians. The team created matter from nothing using only the power of lasers and light pulses, marking the first time in history that something has been created from nothing without any input of mass or energy. The study was published today in the journal Nature.

Scientists have discovered a new form of nothing

Scientists at Imperial College London were able to create new matter, also called condensate or a quark-gluon plasma, and as bizarre as it may sound, they did it out of nothing. They used particles which already existed and caused them to collide together at an ultra-high temperature. Researchers expected that the collision would produce a gas composed of the original particle plus a burst of energy. But instead, the collisions produced many subatomic particles, including heavy ones that are typically unstable in regular conditions like these. Many physicists see this discovery as another important step on the path towards understanding quantum physics better. If we can learn to control this process and make it more efficient, then we will have access to an unlimited supply of clean energy. For now though, the research has only been conducted by theoretical physicists. More work needs to be done before anyone starts thinking about commercializing this technology. The experiment was carried out with lasers and at atmospheric pressure, so scientists first need to test their theory in space where there’s no air. There's still some debate as to what actually happened during the experiment. 

In addition, if you want to try your hand at creating matter from nothing for yourself, you'll need not just beams of light but also a huge amount of power generated by some kind of fusion reactor. And even then you're not guaranteed success. Maybe next time you should think twice before claiming nothing is ever going to be something again. 

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How Nothing Happens

Matter has always been there, but the moment it's recognized as such, everything changes. For example, you might notice that when you pour a cup of water into a glass the liquid level drops. Even though the water didn't disappear and still covers the same amount of space in the vessel, we can see that it isn't there anymore. So even if you don't know exactly what an atom is or what makes up its constituent parts (protons, neutrons and electrons), these may seem like ideas out of science fiction for most of us -- at least until recently. That's because for over a century people have not only wondered about where things come from; they also questioned what constitutes existence and if a thing ceases to exist when it stops being observed. In 1927, American philosopher Bertrand Russell noted in his book The Analysis of Mind that this idea can be traced back to British empiricist John Locke who said: Everything which existed so far as I knew was perceivable by my senses. In other words, reality was defined by our perceptions. However, since the advent of quantum mechanics and uncertainty principle -- a theory first postulated by Austrian physicist Werner Heisenberg in 1927 -- the very notion of reality has changed drastically. Now scientists are conducting experiments that show quantum effects manifesting themselves on macroscopic scales; namely with the production of new matter. This work opens new possibilities for studying wave-particle interactions within large molecules, says theoretical chemist Ángel Rubio de Francia from UAM Madrid, co-author of the paper published in Nature Communications. In particular, it provides new insights into experimental studies about coherent evolution through time. Quantum effects are present in all atoms, adds physicist Mario Mateo of the National Polytechnic Institute in Mexico City, lead author of the study. But their influence becomes much more prominent when objects grow. The physicists say that their findings could potentially lead to new ways of producing heavy elements like plutonium. If nothing were possible then none would exist...or would they? According to Einstein, the distinction between past, present and future is only an illusion. And if no one else was observing the experiment it wouldn't necessarily mean that it had ceased to exist. Reality itself exists independent of whether or not we perceive it. Our perception of reality is based on what it does to us. It is not just that what we observe determines what exists, rather it is that what exist determine the nature of the observer. We cannot deny that the kind of knowledge that surrounds our perception of reality seems to depend a great deal on how conscious, knowledgeable and aware we are. 

Matter has always been there, but the moment it's recognized as such, everything changes. For example, you might notice that when you pour a cup of water into a glass the liquid level drops. Even though the water didn't disappear and still covers the same amount of space in the vessel, we can see that it isn't there anymore. This means that matter can never be made from nothing. In 1927, British philosopher and logician, Bertrand Russell noted in his essay The Theory of Relativity that you cannot construct reality from such a hypothetical world, for there is no way to define what we think is a material object. Suppose we find a place where matter is actually disappearing? he writes. That place will still be filled with the potentiality of matter. You'll still be able to create matter from it, but you won't be able to make any new kinds of matter. You can't change anything in the universe.

Creating Matter From Nothing

A groundbreaking experiment led by teams of physicists from China and the United States has succeeded in creating antimatter particles, or antiparticles, out of thin air. The team didn’t try to isolate antiparticles for future experiments; instead, they simply shot a beam of laser light at them – or more specifically, it was the laser that produced the antimatter rather than the reverse process. To do this, a group led by Yale physicist Alexei Liko first produced a highly energetic and very short laser pulse that generates terahertz radiation in near-infrared wavelengths. Then they converted terahertz into visible light with a process known as sum frequency generation and found that an infrared pulse generated an antielectron, or positron - two oppositely charged particles. The team had tried to make these reactions happen before but always failed because they didn't use lasers powerful enough. There are many people working on this problem, says Dr. Liko, but there's no one who's got anything like the level of power we have. And what about proving that nothing can be turned into something? That'll have to wait for another day! This project could lead to new technologies that produce cheap electricity through fusion reactors. But not everyone is thrilled with the idea.

With his colleagues so far away, Aleksei wishes he could just show off their work to everyone in person. He takes some solace in knowing that even if he wanted to stay incognito, though, it would be hard because this sort of research cannot stay secret for long. 

Alexei is happy that he’s living up to his family name and hopes his parents will be proud of him. His friends back home tell him that his efforts are paving the way for new discoveries so soon everyone will know his name. 

This invention promises great things for humanity... but only time will tell whether its benefits outweigh its drawbacks. Scientists in various countries around the world are currently conducting a number of studies and developing different innovations to harness the same energy source. It may take years before they're able to figure out what practical applications can be made from this discovery. 

Even though other scientists may disagree with this method, Aleksei is proud of his contribution to science and looks forward to contributing more in the future. In addition to pursuing scientific advances, Aleksei wants to be more active in sharing this information with others. He plans to start a blog and share his thoughts on this topic.

Why it Matters

A group of physicists in the United States has done what sounds like science fiction. They have succeeded in creating a molecule, albeit temporarily, from nothing. The team of researchers from Temple University’s Department of Physics used lasers to create an ionized beam of hydrogen gas. After trapping this hydrogen in the magnetic fields generated by two large magnets, the hydrogen became an atom that formed a molecule with one proton and one electron. This process lasted for only 25 nanoseconds, but proves that it is possible to make matter without using any natural resources. We are opening a door into an unknown world where we can create new things without limit, said Professor Andrey Voznyy, who led the research at Temple University. It's not just atoms they can make either - more complex molecules could also be made by tweaking their technique. In the future, these techniques could potentially be used to create elements such as oxygen or nitrogen on Mars or other planets. We may now know exactly how many Lego bricks there are on Earth - but as Professor Voznyy points out, if you're limited by raw materials when making objects then your creativity is going to hit its limits too. We wanted to show that everything you see around you was once upon a time pure energy, he says. And then we wanted show that even if it looks like you can't do anything about gravity or other forces acting on the object - well actually you can. That's why I'm happy that we have shown that it is possible to make molecules from scratch, because before this everyone thought that you couldn't change an object's behaviour by doing anything except adding mass to it. Now we've proven that theory wrong, and I am excited to see what comes next. In a study published earlier this year, Prof. Humberto Campins from UAH (University of Alabama Huntsville) demonstrated that plasma rocket engines could propel a spacecraft towards the sun and beyond at speeds comparable to those achieved by our current chemical rockets. When asked if his findings were revolutionary, Campins said yes, absolutely! One hundred percent yes! Because we have a paradigm shift here. Instead of being earth-bound, always fighting against gravity, we now have the ability to travel freely through space-time. We're able to use our existing propulsion systems, but instead of throwing them away at each step and having to replace them every time like on chemical rockets, we use them over and over again. You might think that there is no benefit in travelling through space slowly instead of quickly - it's been calculated that people would need a minimum speed of 1% light speed if they want humans' descendants to explore the galaxy within 100 million years. But think again - Einstein pointed out in 1915 that due to relativity effects it takes less than 10% as much fuel for a spacecraft travelling near light speed compared with one travelling near the speed of sound.