light pressure

Scientists for the first time in history were able to observe the "pressure" of light exerting pressure on the medium through which it passes. For a hundred years science has been trying to experimentally confirm this hypothetical phenomenon. So far, only the “pulling” action of the light rays, and not the “pushing” one, has been registered.

The groundbreaking observation of the pressure of a light beam was made jointly by Chinese scientists from Guangzhou University and Israeli colleagues from the Rehovot Research Institute. A description of the study can be found in the latest issue of the New Journal of Physics.

In their experiment, scientists observed a phenomenon in which part of the light is reflected from the surface of the liquid, and part penetrates inside. For the first time, the surface of the medium deviated, which proves the presence of pressure in the light beam. Such phenomena were predicted back in 1908 by the physicist Max Abraham, but have not yet found experimental confirmation.