The Pressure Due to Radiation. (Second Paper.)

Nichols, E. F.; Hull, G. F.

doi:10.1103/physrevseriesi.17.91

Cited by 13 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…The first direct experimental demonstration of radiation pressure was evidently made by Lebedev [8], who inferred the pressure from the deflection caused by the reflection of light off a small mirror hanging from a torsion fiber in an evacuated glass jar. Similar experiments were performed at the same time by Nichols and Hull [9,10], who were able to more accurately subtract out the force on the mirror due to ambient gas effects rather than radiation pressure; they concluded that "The Maxwell-Bartoli theory is thus quantitatively confirmed within the probable errors of observation." It is worth emphasizing how weak were the forces measured by these pioneers.…”

Section: ͑4͒mentioning

confidence: 58%

Momentum of Light in a Dielectric Medium

2010

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We review different expressions that have been proposed for the stress tensor and for the linear momentum of light in dielectric media, focusing on the Abraham and Minkowski forms. Analyses of simple models and consideration of available experimental results support the interpretation of the Abraham momentum as the kinetic momentum of the field, while the Minkowski momentum is the recoil momentum of absorbing or emitting guest atoms in a host dielectric. Momentum conservation requires consideration not only of the momentum of the field and of recoiling guest atoms, but also of the momentum the field imparts to the medium. Different model assumptions with respect to electrostriction and the dipole force lead to different expressions for this momentum. We summarize recent work on the definition of the canonical momentum for the field in a dielectric medium.

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Section: ͑4͒mentioning

confidence: 58%

Momentum of Light in a Dielectric Medium

2010

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“…Radiation pressure was first quantitatively described by Maxwell based on his wave-theory of electromagnetism published in 1873 1 . Nearly thirty years later, radiation pressure was experimentally demonstrated independently by Nichols and Hull 2 and by Lebedev 3 . In the past decade, there has been renewed interest in radiation pressure due to the development of opto-micro-mechanical devices and the field of cavity optomechanics 4 – 7 , as well as the practical development of space propulsion techniques using on solar or laser-based sails 8 , 9 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Measurement of wavelength-dependent radiation pressure from photon reflection and absorption due to thin film interference

Munday

2018

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Opto-mechanical forces result from the momentum transfer that occurs during light-matter interactions. One of the most common examples of this phenomenon is the radiation pressure that is exerted on a reflective surface upon photon reflection. For an ideal mirror, the radiation pressure is independent of the wavelength of light and depends only on the incident power. Here we consider a different regime where, for a constant input optical power, wavelength-dependent radiation pressure is observed due to coherent thin film Fabry-Perot interference effects. We perform measurements using a Si microcantilever and utilize an in-situ optical transmission technique to determine the local thickness of the cantilever and the light beam’s angle of incidence. Although Si is absorptive in the visible part of the spectrum, by exploiting the Fabry-Perot modes of the cantilever, we can determine whether momentum is transferred via reflection or absorption by tuning the incident wavelength by only ~20 nm. Finally, we demonstrate that the tunable wavelength excitation measurement can be used to separate photothermal effects and radiation pressure.

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“…N&H published their own results on measuring the light pressure in 1901 as a preliminary report [6] and in a complete form in 1903 [7]. The main conclusion which was deduced by N&H from their measurements [7] does not differ from the conclusion of P.Lebedev in Annalen der Physik [3]: "Thus, the Maxwell-Bartoli theory confirmed quantitatively within the measurement error" with the distinction that this finding was published two years later. A particular result claimed by N&H was the value of the measurement error 1%, while P.Lebedev evaluated the accuracy of his measurements as 20%.…”

Section: A Lesson From the History Of Scientific Discoverymentioning

confidence: 85%

“…Green [8], published in 1933. During their own measurements, they showed specific inaccuracies in the calculations of light pressure forces presented in N&H's paper [7]. Correction of these factors, made by Bell and Green, led to a discrepancy of 10% between experimental data and the theory of Maxwell-Bartoli.…”

Section: A Lesson From the History Of Scientific Discoverymentioning

confidence: 97%