Nano-mirrors mix physical molecules with light / Nano-specchi mescolano molecole fisiche con la luce Segnalato dal Dott. Giuseppe Cotellessa / Reported by Dr. Joseph Cotellessa A team of researchers led by Cambridge University has developed tiny optical cavities that cause molecules and photons to mix, opening up possibilities for quantum processing. Described in the journal Nature , the work involved creating cavities just one nanometre wide in order to trap light. The researchers used the tiny gap between a gold nanoparticle and a mirror, and placed a coloured dye molecule inside. With such a minute mirrored space, the energy between the photon and the dye molecule oscillates back and forth so rapidly that it results in a complete mixing of the two. “It’s like a hall of mirrors for a molecule, only spaced a hundred thousand times thinner than a human hair,” said lead researcher Prof Jeremy Baumberg from the NanoPhotonics Centre at Cambridge’s Cavendish L
