Light’s magnetic field influences matter, according to new findings by Israeli researchers, challenging long-held assumptions that light only illuminates matter and prompting a rethink of how the Faraday Effect works.
Some of today’s most cutting-edge technologies—currently mostly laboratory concepts such as spintronics and quantum devices—could benefit from this revised understanding, as the new work reexamines one of physics’ most fundamental interactions.
First discovered by Michael Faraday in 1845, the Faraday Effect describes what has long been viewed as an interaction solely between light’s electric field and matter. Observations of the effect reveal that light’s polarization rotates as it passes through a material exposed to a steady magnetic field. Traditionally, researchers believed only the electric field of light contributed to this rotation. Now, new work suggests that light’s magnetic field is also a significant player.
A new study provides theoretical evidence that the oscillating magnetic field of light directly contributes to the Faraday Effect. Dr. Amir Capua and Benjamin Assouline of the Institute of Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem led the research, published in Nature Scientific Reports.
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