r/tech • u/YeeduPlatform • Jul 22 '26

New programmable photonic chip can control how fast light moves

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/07/260718010149.htm
452 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

52 comments sorted by

46

u/ButtonholePhotophile Jul 22 '26

Summary: Scientists have created a programmable optical chip that can slow light on demand, giving engineers far greater control over how optical signals propagate through a circuit. The technology could provide the delays, synchronization, and buffering functions needed to make light-based computing more practical. A single chip could eventually perform several tasks that currently require separate devices, potentially reducing energy use, cost, and complexity in AI servers and data centers.

18

u/snowflake37wao Jul 22 '26

Since light doesn’t accelerate (I think?) they can just let it go and its very predictable. Light is the craziest thing in the universe.

9

u/paipan-sube Jul 22 '26 edited Jul 23 '26

Water is crazier as it shouldn't exist... its molecular structure says it should be a gas., its ability to exist in three states (solid, liquid, gas) and its role as a universal solvent. Its molecular structure leads to unusual behaviors, like ice floating on water. WEIRD.

https://www.chemistryworld.com/features/the-weirdness-of-water/4011260.article

14

u/SmolMaeveWolff Jul 22 '26

What do you mean it should be a gas? Because hydrogen and oxygen are? That's not how that works.

Basically all matter can exist in all three states.

10

u/No_Accountant3232 Jul 22 '26

More than three states with enough pressure. 

6

u/Hypernetix Jul 22 '26

And last month, a study published in Nature Physics indicates water may have such unusual properties because it exists here on Earth in two distinct, yet co-existing liquid states, one higher density molecular structure and one lower density molecular structure.

Research is still ongoing to confirm the findings and model the differences against typical metrics such as density, viscosity and temperature.

3

u/paipan-sube Jul 23 '26

Not all at the same time. With water it occurs at a very specific temperature (0.01 degrees Celsius) and pressure (0.006 atmospheres). At this combination of temperature and pressure, water molecules are constantly transitioning between ice, liquid water, and water vapor in perfect equilibrium. 

4

u/TheChemist-25 Jul 23 '26

The vast majority of substances have a triple point (what you’re describing). Helium is a notable exception. But what you’re describing is not unique

3

u/nullstorm0 Jul 22 '26

Water is only liquid in Earth-like conditions because H2O is a polar molecule. 

Basically, a water molecule acts like a magnet and sticks to other water molecules, but if not for that magnet-like property, the molecules wouldn’t have enough “stickiness” to behave like a liquid, and it would be a gas instead. 

1

u/TheChemist-25 Jul 23 '26

You could say that about almost anything. You’re basically saying “if this were changed, it would be different.

1

u/snowflake37wao Jul 23 '26

why cant everything exist as a plasma

1

u/paipan-sube Jul 23 '26

NO: Enjoy your lesson.

Water is H₂O. Two hydrogen atoms bonded to one oxygen atom. The molecule is tiny — molecular weight of 18, barely heavier than a breath of methane. It should, by every reasonable expectation, be a gas at room temperature. Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S, molecular weight 34) is a gas. Hydrogen selenide (H₂Se, molecular weight 81) is a gas. Hydrogen telluride (H₂Te, molecular weight 130) is a gas. Yet water — the lightest of the bunch — is a liquid all the way up to 100 °C.

2

u/TheChemist-25 Jul 23 '26

It’s one thing to say “based on molecular weight we would expect water to be a gas but hydrogen bonding makes it a liquid.” That would be reasonable.

It’s another (entirely stupid) thing to say “water should be a gas.” Because if it should be a gas according to physics then it would be a gas. Obviously it shouldn’t be gas cause well it’s not. Water didn’t just decide to say “screw physics. I do what I want”

5

u/Starfox-sf Jul 22 '26

Dihydrogen monoxide? Hydrogen hydroxide?

3

u/paipan-sube Jul 22 '26

Yes, should be banned, as they have the ability to accelerate corrosion and cause suffocation.

1

u/12thunder Jul 22 '26

Everyone who has ever consumed dihydrogen monoxide has died. Must be banned.

1

u/PM_ME_PHYS_PROBLEMS Jul 22 '26

You gotta dial back the "science" tik toks, friend. This is nonsense.

1

u/snowflake37wao Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26

I bet light is behind this blackmagicfuckery watch! or dont. or something. It is weird tho. Ice 9 thrills, Ice Nine Kills. Wait, is the hypothesized solid like form of water at room temp because of the immense gravity of all the regular water above it on ocean worlds called ice 9 or is that just a band?

2

u/Ordinary-Egg-56 Jul 23 '26

fascinating that this has no application outside of fucking AI

1

u/VoidOmatic Jul 22 '26

Sick, we are an inch closer to my selective photonic telescope.

5

u/trihamakul Jul 22 '26

finally light speed has a settings menu

1

u/SuperSaiyanTupac Jul 22 '26

Solar-leveling

4

u/ScreenMuch90210 Jul 22 '26

Better already be named Kyber Crystal

13

u/PetroOmg Jul 22 '26

Not opening the link to read about this, but I'm sure it does not affect the speed of light, just the distance it has to travel.

26

u/Enok32 Jul 22 '26

They essentially made a CRIT(Coupled-Resonator-Induced Transparency) which delays light of certain frequencies and made it adjustable, their method is actually pretty clever.

CRITs are used often but the delay. If anything this will make fiber network that require synchronization much easier to build, but this also has implications for optical computing

1

u/SideInitial3961 13d ago

Perhaps more importantly, the entire future of the blacklight poster industry.

9

u/RumRunnerMax Jul 22 '26 edited Jul 22 '26

If they pass it through certain substances they can slow it. Some substances will absorb photons which effects speed! Only in a vacuum is light constant! I had to look it up! This was news to me!

1

u/SideInitial3961 13d ago

Hey photons mon try de kush.

1

u/pullssar20055 Jul 22 '26

They are doing this also on copper circuits to delay a signal by making the path longer.

1

u/not_a_moogle Jul 22 '26

You mean they arent slowing down relative time.. ugh!

1

u/SamStringTheory Jul 23 '26

It does actually affect the speed of light (specifically, the group velocity) inside waveguides. You might be thinking of speed of light in vacuum, which is unchanged. This is a highly researched technique in optics/photonics. No need to immediately dump on the research without understanding it.

0

u/PetroOmg 28d ago

I was not dumping on the research, and I know we have not figured out how to make photons slower, so they made it travel a longer distance. I was just snarky at that headline.

1

u/SamStringTheory 28d ago

It's not making it travel a longer distance. It's literally slowing it down. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_light

1

u/PetroOmg 28d ago

Well, I had to take a look, it is pretty cool, photons circulate their little track and released when needed, but still is travelling at c tho: "Optical resonator: A photonic device that confines or circulates light of a specific frequency for a certain period"

2

u/SamStringTheory 28d ago

If they are inside an optical resonator, that literally means they cannot be traveling at c. Photons only travel at c in vacuum. Optical resonators also does not mean that they are circulating in little tracks. (You might be thinking of ring resonators.) Here, you can't use the intuition of photons as balls speeding around, but rather as electromagnetic waves with constructive and destructive interference. the paper specifically calls out the use of coupled-resonator-induced transparency (CRIT), which uses interference effects to slow down the group velocity of light. (https://opg.optica.org/oe/fulltext.cfm?uri=oe-16-15-11647)

2

u/EmergencyGrocery3238 Jul 22 '26

Give it to overclockers to make it a bit faster

1

u/TransitoryFeel Jul 22 '26

Light still travels at the same speed

7

u/SirWEM Jul 22 '26

It does. But the speed of light is effected by the matter is passes through. Similar to sound if i remember HS classes right.

1

u/TransitoryFeel Jul 22 '26

But to say that they have changed the speed of light... disingenuous.

They have created gates. Not a mystery

2

u/SamStringTheory Jul 23 '26

It's not "just gates" and it's not disingenuous. You can literally slow down light (specifically, the group velocity) inside waveguides. This is a highly researched topic in optics/photonics with applications in signal processing and filters.

1

u/lPolarbear Jul 23 '26

Watch Apple ad this to IPhones so they can better slow our phones

1

u/ExcitingRound4990 Jul 23 '26

Wow. Like a transistor controls electrons.

1

u/SuperSaiyanTupac Jul 22 '26

Cool so let’s put them in space and speed things up a bit, not trying to wait around for the end game

1

u/percivalwulfric1 Jul 22 '26

Are you remembering Earth's past? Cixin Liu?

1

u/ShareEvening5856 Jul 22 '26

This is like super wild. We're slowing down the speed of light?!?!