Breakthrough ‘light hurricanes’ could revolutionize how we transmit digital data
ESPOO, Finland — Imagine a beam of light that twists like a corkscrew as it travels through space. Now imagine being able to control exactly how many times that beam twists around itself. Scientists at Aalto University in Finland have just achieved a remarkable breakthrough in creating these twisted light beams, achieving more twists than ever thought possible. This achievement could transform how we send data through fiber optic cables and advance emerging technologies like quantum computers.
To understand why this matters, let’s break down what these scientists actually accomplished. In normal light, like what comes from a lightbulb or regular laser pointer, the light waves oscillate (move back and forth) in straight lines. But in these special beams, the light waves rotate around a central point as they travel, similar to how a hurricane moves. Scientists measure how many complete rotations the light makes using something called “topological charge” – essentially a number that tells you how many times the light twists around itself.
Until now, scientists could only create light beams that completed one or two full twists. But this new research has shattered that limit, creating vortices of light that can twist up to 19 times in one direction and 17 times in the other. It’s like the difference between a merry-go-round that only spins once versus one that spins 19 times – a dramatic increase in complexity and potential usefulness.
