light detection without quantum changes in matter

Hi,

Another more abstract idea is to use something similar to DNA, and the machinery that creates proteins:

The ribosome selects the amino acid to add to the protein chain based on the RNA base, for a light detector, the ribosome should also select the amino acid to use based on the background EM field, and then as the amino acid chain is created, there is a time stamped history of the EM field at that area. If a 3D grid of cells with these ribosomes are part of the light detector this can give unique proteins as the output at each grid xyz location for further analysis.

The only reason to consider going to so much trouble to detect light, is that a weak field light detector that doesn't rely on quantum changes in matter could detect light at the "sub-photon" level which would be interesting for telescopes etc.

Different types of ribosomes could be made that react to the local weak light fields and also different types of amino acids could be made, so there might be 2^10 (1024) different amino acids, equivalent to a

Here is an animation of a cell's ribosome making an amino acid chain, using RNA and floating amino acids. The correct amino acid is selected based on the current RNA base:

alternate link to video:

cheers, Jamie

It's absorbing energy, which has to come from someplace. I suspect that some sort of quantum stuff is going on, even though I couldn't tell you how or what.

Hi,

Yep it is absorbing energy, but it is not absorbing as much energy that is considered to make up a "photon", as there are no electron orbital state changes, the amount of energy absorbed is not discrete but continuous and proportional to the forces on the atoms to move them tiny amounts. The amount of energy absorbed could be calculated classically based on weights and accelerations etc.

cheers, Jamie

"van der Waals" it is.

( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_der_Waals_force )

just being pedantic :)

joe

Ok, so what happens with the photon, does it change color?

joe

Hi,

There is no photon absorbed in weak measurements, as they don't involve quantum orbital changes in matter, rather just involve purely analog movements.

A couple random ideas for making weak measurements:

Use an easily perturbed system like a Bose?Einstein condensate which can be used to trigger when disturbed by incoming weak EM sources potentially to warm the BEC past the condensation threshold and forming a normal gas. This is more for an on/off sub-photon detection method.

For an analog sub-photon detector, if the BEC doesn't reach the condensation threshold then it will still react to incoming EM sources, the hard part is detecting the tiny EM induced changes in the BEC without influencing the BEC itself I think though.

cheers, Jamie

Another idea would be to use a SQUID or SERF magnetic field detectors:

and also some transparent material that has the property of analog magnetization change from EM fields, and then detect the magnetization in the material proportional to the weak EM light source.

cheers, Jamie

Hi,

One more idea for making weak EM measurements is to take a "snapshot" of the local EM field. It could be done by using electrically charged nano particles and plasmonic transparent metamaterials and a pulse of X-ray or UV light. The plasmonic metamaterials could be put on a glass surface and would build up a charge proportional (and in areas corresponding to) the background EM field, and the nano particles would be placed on the surface of the glass, ie small nanometer sized electrically charged spheres, equally distributed, and when the plasmonic metamaterial reacts to the background EM field by building up a charge, the beads will change their orientation and then the X-ray or UV ray, ie from a femto-second laser, can be used to melt and fix the nano-particles in their orientation, or optionally just detect their positions non destructively possibly. The metamaterials would have to be structured so that they give information about the properties of the EM field, ie polarization, wavelength, frequency etc.

cheers, Jamie

Please read again the quantum mechanics textbook about observing a particle-scale system. Your photons count in this scale.

Hi,

Electromagnetic energy that is undetectable via quantum state changes in matter, whether this weak EM is a "photon" or not might be irrelevant.

I think it would be interesting to find a way to directly detect the weak electromagnetic fields (or "photons") using non quantum measurements, or quantum systems with very low state change energy requirements so they are more sensitive to small perturbations from the EM field than conventional quantum state change device.

cheers, Jamie

While it appears to be promising, one has to very carefully weigh the effect of each of the parameters involved and only then can one realize how feasible it is to turn the idea into a real device. Take for example optical computing, at the core of which is the issue -- how to control flow of light, that is how to make an optical switch. AT&T spent hundreds of millions of dollars before recognizing that to make an optical switch, one has to change the refractive index of the medium through which it is flowing. BUT .. to achieve this change in refractive index, one has to apply say a 250 Volt pulse to an optical optical fiber, and that turned out to be an Achilless heel. So, end of optical computing.

• I will have you know that MY electrons are GREEN with envy over your statement!

Good old Heisenberg! Look and change! Measure and disturb!