For all practical matters and the seemingly impractical matters of astrophysics and particle physics, the speed of light has always been assumed and proven to be a constant in space or a vacuum. Daniel Giovannini with the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Glasgow and colleagues have shown that the speed of light changes with the shape of the photons in the light.
Light contains very small packets of energy called photons. Photons account for the wave and particle nature of light. The researchers manipulated the shape of the photons of a light source and found that the speed of light decreases in space depending on the shape of the photons. The spacing between photons of light is minute and the reality is that photons travel in groups or packets as well as single entities.
The researchers found that single photons and groups of photons slow down at the same rate depending on the complexity of the shape of the photon or group of photons. The speed of light was found to decrease with increasing complexity in the shape of a photon or packet of photons. The discovery was a laboratory manipulation but the slowing of light has been seen in particle accelerators and in some astrophysical phenomena.
The researchers show that their discovery should be applicable to any type of wave. This means that sound and electricity could be manipulated to control speed. Speed in the control of electricity could lead to new circuit developments that were not thought possible. Manipulation of the right frequency of light could turn on faulty enzymes or proteins that cause diseases. This is really a big deal in physics. Light does not travel at a constant speed.
