Redefining Electrical Current Law

While the laws of physics weren't made to be broken, sometimes they need revision as work with the Transistor Laser has shown.

ScienceDaily reports:

A major current law has been rewritten thanks to the three-port transistor laser, developed by Milton Feng and Nick Holonyak Jr. at the University of Illinois.

With the transistor laser, researchers can explore the behavior of photons, electrons and semiconductors. The device could shape the future of high-speed signal processing, integrated circuits, optical communications, supercomputing and other applications. However, harnessing these capabilities hinges on a clear understanding of the physics of the device, and data the transistor laser generated did not fit neatly within established circuit laws governing electrica currents.

"We were puzzled," said Feng, the Holonyak Chair Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. "How did that work? Is it violating Kirchhoff's law? How can the law accommodate a further output signal, a photon or optical signal?"

Read the full ScienceDaily article 'Redefining Electrical Current Law With the Transistor Laser'
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/
100512164335.htm

ScienceDaily
http://www.sciencedaily.com/

Thanks to George Boorer ZL3PN for spotting this.