In 1899, Nikola Tesla was interviewed by Eternal Life magazine and had a deeply engaging conversation with journalist John Smith. In this conversation, Tesla offers his unique point of view: the origin of the universe is light. He further explained that the existence of matter is produced by the most primitive and eternal energy – that is, light as we know it. This simple statement reveals the deepest secret of the universe: that all matter may have come from light. Although Tesla has been dead for a long time, his words still leave a deep impression on people's hearts. Especially in recent years, scientists have found that Tesla's theory is consistent with their findings through in-depth research on light. So, what exactly is light? Why would Tesla say everything is light? In this issue, we will talk about human research on light.
Around 300 B.C., a great figure was born in Europe, he was the ancient Greek mathematician Euclid, who was called the "father of geometry" by later generations. Euclid not only made outstanding achievements in the field of mathematics, but also made important contributions to the study of light. Euclid found an interesting phenomenon in his daily observations: the pillars in the distance, although they were actually much taller than people, were visually about the size of an outstretched finger. This optical illusion aroused his great interest. In order to understand the nature of this phenomenon, Euclid delved into the laws of light propagation and revealed its mysteries through a series of ingenious geometric calculations. Through experiments and calculations, Euclid came to an important conclusion: the angle of incidence of light is equal to the angle of reflection. This discovery shows that the reflection of light follows strict geometric laws, which makes it possible to grasp the properties of light mathematically. On the basis of these studies, Euclid wrote the book Reflective Optics, which systematically summarized his discoveries about the laws of light reflection.
This book not only describes in detail the principle of reflection of light, but also has a profound impact on scientific research in later generations. Although Euclid made a major breakthrough in the physical properties of light, this was only the beginning of understanding light. In 1664, at the age of 21, Newton became curious about why light could enter his eyes. He wondered if the behavior of light would change if an external force was applied to the eye? To explore this question, he conducted a bold and dangerous experiment. He tucked a small pointed wooden stick between his eyeballs and sockets, and as the pressure gradually increased, a colorful halo appeared around the focus of his eyes. Despite the pain, he continued to observe. Newton found that the layout of these colorful halos was exactly the same as that of a rainbow. This observation led him to realize that the rainbow is an inherent phenomenon of light. Newton then conducted the famous prism experiment. He discovered that white light could be broken down into seven-colored bands of light, and he further discovered that pure color light could not be broken down again, meaning that the same color belonged to the same refractive index.
Based on the above experiments, Newton proposed the particle theory of light, which is composed of tiny particles. These particles travel at different speeds in different media, resulting in refraction and dispersion. However, the particle theory could not explain the phenomenon of why light bypassed an object, and at this time, another scientist, Huygens, proposed a new theory: light has waves. He believed that both light and sound travel in waves. For more than a century, the particle theory and the wave theory were hotly debated. Due to Newton's immense influence, the theory of particles of light became dominant in the 18th century. It was not until the nineteenth century that the study of light ushered in a crucial shift. In 1801, Thomas Young successfully explained the interference phenomenon of light through the famous double-slit interference experiment, which laid the foundation for the wave theory of light, which finally defeated Newton's particle theory in the 19th century. After the initial victory of the wave theory, a new theory is coming. In 1845, Michael Faraday discovered that the vibrating surface of light rotates in a strong magnetic field, a phenomenon that revealed the intrinsic connection between light and the electromagnetic field. This discovery aroused widespread interest and opened new doors for optical research.
And at this moment, another giant of science was born, and he was James Maxwell. Through long-term research, Maxwell developed the famous Maxwell's equations, which describe the interaction between electric and magnetic fields. However, Maxwell's real breakthrough was his calculation that electricity and magnetism travel at the same speed as light. In 1861, Maxwell established the theory of electromagnetism, proving that light is an electromagnetic wave. This theory has revolutionized the human understanding of light. Fast forward to 1895, when Albert Einstein, who was only 16 years old, began to ponder a profound question: Why is light the upper limit of the speed of all objects in the universe? He began to think about the relationship between light and matter, energy, and time. This question bothered Einstein for many years, until ten years later, Einstein made a major breakthrough in the study of light. He proposed the mass-energy equation (E=mc^2), which revolutionized the human perception of the world. Einstein's theory of relativity further states that time and space transform at the speed of light, making light an important tool for revealing the mysteries of the universe.
Although these great scientists have revealed many mysteries of light to us, the understanding of light is still in its infancy. In the 30s of the 20th century, 27-year-old Zhao Zhongyao conducted a miraculous experiment in the laboratory, in which he bombarded the heavy metal lead with a high-energy hard Y-ray photon beam, and unexpectedly observed a strange phenomenon: a kind of light appeared "out of nothing". No one was able to explain this phenomenon at the time, and the light he discovered was actually the result of the annihilation of the collision of positive and negative electrons.
With this discovery, Zhao Zhongyao became the first person on Earth to observe antimatter. His research revealed a striking truth: the collision of positive matter with antimatter can produce not only light, but also new matter. This discovery opened a new door for the scientific community, and a new understanding of the relationship between matter and energy began. Everything in the world is born from the void, and it is light that generates all the matter in the universe. Light is not only a mysterious natural phenomenon, but also the most fundamental existence in the universe. At this point, do you already understand what it means to be light? What are your different views and thoughts on light, welcome to discuss actively, thank you for watching, I am exploring the universe, we will see you next time.