Scientists Solve Century-Old Optics Mystery

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."

Comments

Re:"Experimentalist"

[jc42]

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.