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Scientists Solve Century-Old Optics Mystery

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the all-out-of-joementum dept.

evan_arrrr! writes "From the article: Since the early 20th century physicists have known that light carries momentum, but the way this momentum changes as light passes through different media is much less clear. Two rival theories of the time predicted precisely the opposite effect for light incident on a dielectric: one suggesting it pushes the surface in the direction light is traveling; the other suggesting it drags the surface backwards towards the source of light. After 100 years of conflicting experimental results, a team of experimentalists from China believe they have finally found a resolution."

6 of 265 comments (clear)

  1. "Experimentalist" by girlintraining · · Score: 3, Insightful

    What happened to good old "Scientist"? It's a nice, nine letters long, and respected. "Experimentalist"... It sounds like what a social deviant might call themselves. Like some weird cult that was rejected by the mainstream sect of Scientist, so they had to add an extra six letters to their name to make up for their lack of membership. Maybe more letters makes it sounds more smart? -_-

    --
    #fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
    1. Re:"Experimentalist" by jc42 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      What happened to good old "Scientist"? It's a nice, nine letters long, and respected. "Experimentalist"... It sounds like what a social deviant might call themselves. ...

      Of course, the more common term is "experimental scientist", as opposed to someone like Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawking, who were/are mostly known as theoretical scientists.

      But "experimentalist" is a valid English word, makes sense in context, and has fewer syllables than "experimental scientist" while still emphasizing the experimental nature of their work.

      --
      Those who do study history are doomed to stand helplessly by while everyone else repeats it.
  2. Re:Slashdotted already by Cowmonaut · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Timestamps people! Be nice to your fellow posters. If its redundant to a post with the same timestamp just ignore it!

  3. Re:Mirrored by azenpunk · · Score: 3, Insightful

    i read 'text only mirror' and my first thought was 'how in hell do they choose what gets reflected?'

  4. Re:A little background is apropos me thinks... by bishiraver · · Score: 3, Insightful

    For those with a large monitor, the GP was doing us all a favor. It gets difficult for the human brain to read text with overly long lines: the optimal width is about 65 characters. Longer than that and the eye gets lost when traveling back to the left for the next line. Basic usability/readability knowledge.

  5. Re:First Post AND Slashdotted Already by SolusSD · · Score: 3, Insightful

    when it comes to scientific discoveries its more likely the US government would find it inappropriate.