The latest breakthrough from researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has shaken up our understanding of how light interacts with matter. For over 180 years, most folks thought this concept was settled.
Dr. Amir Capua and Benjamin Assouline led the team that discovered something surprising: the magnetic part of light matters way more than we thought. Their work doesn’t just challenge old theories—it hints at new possibilities for optics, magnetism, spintronics, and quantum computing.
Challenging Almost Two Centuries of Assumptions
Back in 1845, Michael Faraday ran experiments that shaped how we think about light. The general belief became that the Faraday Effect—where light’s polarization rotates as it passes through a material in a magnetic field—happened mainly because light’s electric field pushed on charged particles.
Most scientists figured the magnetic part of light barely did anything. But this new research says, hang on, that’s not the whole story.
Turns out, light’s magnetic field can actually exert a measurable torque on matter. That means we’ve been missing a big piece of the puzzle in our models of how light and matter interact.
The Magnetic Voice of Light
The team used advanced modeling with the Landau–Lifshitz–Gilbert equation, which usually describes how magnetization changes. They wanted to see how light’s magnetic side might influence materials.
They ran careful experiments with Terbium Gallium Garnet (TGG) crystals and got some eye-opening results:
- About 17% of Faraday rotation in visible light actually comes from magnetic interaction.
- Up to 70% of Faraday rotation in infrared light is due to magnetic effects.
So as light’s wavelength gets longer, the magnetic part doesn’t just show up—it starts to take over.
Rewriting the Textbook on Light–Matter Interactions
Now we know light “talks” to matter not just with its electric field, but with its magnetic field too. That’s not a small tweak—it’s a big shift in thinking.
For decades, photonic tech has focused almost entirely on the electric field. We can now dream up new designs that tap into the magnetic side for effects we haven’t even tried yet.
Practical Implications for Science and Technology
This opens up a lot of doors in science and engineering:
- Optics – Maybe we’ll see better control over light polarization, leading to sharper lenses, smarter sensors, or new laser tricks.
- Magnetism – Using light to control magnetism could offer new ways to move or tweak magnetic states without touching anything.
- Spintronics – If we can work magnetic light effects into spin-based electronics, devices could get faster and use less energy.
- Optical Data Storage – Recording data with magnetic-field-sensitive optics might mean more storage and quicker access.
- Quantum Computing – Spin-based quantum systems could become easier to manipulate with the magnetic part of light.
The Road Ahead
This discovery isn’t just a neat physics result—it sets the stage for new experiments and engineering ideas. By including magnetic effects in optical modeling, scientists might finally break through some old barriers in working with light and magnetic materials.
A New Era in Photonics
Researchers now have a chance to build devices that let magnetic interactions connect directly with light waves. This could upend the way we design components for communications, storage, and computation.
Photonic systems might soon offer magnetic control at nanoscale precision. That’s a big leap for anyone working at the intersection of physics and engineering.
As people dig deeper into the “magnetic voice” of light, we’re likely to see new technologies pop up in labs around the world. Two centuries after Faraday’s early work, we’re finally starting to appreciate light’s electric and magnetic sides in full.
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Here is the source article for this story: A 180-Year Assumption About Light Was Just Proven Wrong