Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Not sure what you mean, since it is clearly explained that such a device is mathematically impossible. A naive way to it would be with a Michelson interferometer where the two beams are displaced exactly by (2n+1)*pi radians and thus interfere so that the target detector sees nothing. Most physics undergraduates do this experiment at least once during their lab courses. But again, if you account for everything, you'll find that the "missing" energy at the detector just went back to the source via the mirror.


I'd like to see a video showing the experiment with some of the more complex interferometer setups so that it's easier to understand the coherent effect.

I've seen series like this before:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4E7FAAD67B171EBC

But they never seem to explain cases where the expected outputs are all destructive.

I can dig down the reddit hole with lots of interesting ideas and explanations:

https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/2fsol9/where_do...

But what I really want to see is a good experiment on video that show the effect.


You mean something like this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRi4dv9KgCg


Yes, I linked that video because I'd like something like that, but attempting to make all paths cancel completely and showing why it can't be done.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: