'A mixture from zero to infinity': Physicists tried splitting a photon
Researchers attempted to divide a photon into multiple particles. The process resulted in a complex mixture of particles ranging from zero to infinity. This outcome raises new questions regarding particle limits and quantum behavior.
What changed
New reports describe the resulting particle state as an unexpected swarm.
Live updates
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Physicists Explore Results of Splitting a Photon
confidence 90%Researchers attempted to divide a photon into multiple particles. The process resulted in a complex mixture of particles ranging from zero to infinity. This outcome raises new questions regarding particle limits and quantum behavior.
What's confirmed:
- Scientists attempted to split a photon into multiple particles.
- The attempt resulted in a mixture of particles from zero to infinity.
Still unconfirmed:
- The results of the experiment were described as very weird.
- The outcome created an unexpected swarm of particles.
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Physicists Study Effects of Attempting to Split a Photon
confidence 90%A theoretical study led by Johannes Skaar explores the results of trying to break a photon in half. The research suggests this process would create an infinite number of new photons rather than two smaller particles. This complex state may alter the current understanding of particles.
What's confirmed:
- Elementary particles cannot be broken into smaller pieces by definition.
- A theoretical study published in Physical Review Letters by Johannes Skaar and colleagues suggests attempting to cut a photon in two would conjure an infinite number of photons.
- Physicists found that splitting a photon would lead to a complex state that may change the way we think of particles.
Still unconfirmed:
- Searches for split photon spiked across the United States in mid-June 2026.
- A 2021 Dartmouth College paper titled Topology by Dissipation: Majorana Bosons in Metastable Quadratic Markovian Dynamics changed the assumption that photons are indivisible.