Optics
Irish mathematician William Rowan Hamilton developed a framework in the 1820s and 1830s that linked the paths of light rays and moving particles, an idea that later proved crucial to quantum mechanics. Born 220 years ago, Hamilton's work, including carving a formula on Dublin's Broome Bridge in 1843, built on earlier physics but revealed deeper connections only understood a century later. This insight helped shape modern theories of wave-particle duality.
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Scientists at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria have developed a technique using intersecting laser beams to trap and charge single aerosol particles, observing their electrical changes in real time. This method, detailed in Physical Review Letters, mimics processes inside storm clouds and could uncover how lightning initiates. The glowing particles reveal electron loss and sudden charge bursts through a two-photon process.