The most interesting aspect of quasiparticles, other than being an exotic high level application of physics, is that some new applications can emerge from stable quasiparticles that would exceed our current technological abilities. One quasiparticle that I have researched for some time is the exciton polariton. If this quasiparticle can be stabilized into a plasma in freespace, perhaps with intense radio waves and strong magnetic fields, it may be used to create dynamic fields that could move objects without a motor. This theoretical application hasn't been researched by anybody else, but it may be the mechanism behind the controversial "Hutchison Effect".
The mechanism that I propose for this is that John Hutchison's tinkering with Van Der Graaf generators and radio wave and microwave sources may have incidentally created some exciton polaritons by combining the proper frequency of photons with the charges freed fro m some electrons in the Van Der Graaf source. If the exciton polaritons can move freely around or through objects they could move the objects by creating a static difference in charges which could cause an electromotive force to arise in a similar fashion to electrohydrodynamics.
For those who are skeptics of John Hutchison's work, he admits that he has been unable to really accomplish this effect since 1991. I often double check my doubts by looking for a mechanism, and since parts of his "laboratory" were disclosed in some of his interviews, I found that there could be a mechanism as I described above. Since these effects were akin to a rumored Tesla experiment (which may still be top secret), I thought it was worth the additional time and interest.
Further possibilities exist for quasiparticle technology. The list could extend to forcefields, tractor beams, programmable matter, and the ability to disrupt the electron repulsion that makes objects impervious (basically passing one solid object through another). Don't look for items based around quasiparticles on store shelves anytime soon, the physics is exotic and not yet well explored. There are a least a century's worth of milestones before we will see practical forcefield devices in use.
The quasiparticle in question which could be behind the Hutchinson effect is potentially the exciton polariton, which is the momentary addition of charge to a photon. In the case of John Hutchinson's experiment, radio frequencies were likely used, or microwaves. He didn't keep very good records, so it is difficult to tell which part of the spectrum ended up being used. In laboratory conditions the exciton polariton has been created in a limited fashion using a laser and some kind of charge apparatus. The charge has to be applied to the laser in some fashion that prevents the electron from moving along with it. For the microwave or radio wave setup, some type of charge chamber could potentially be built that prevents the flow of electrons past some sort of thin barrier.
ReplyDeleteAs for tractor beams and forcefields, the essence of the technology used is that electromotive force... the ability to move things via an electrical field should apply to any charge carrying particle even exciton polaritons.
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