Radiation pressure measurement using a macroscopic oscillator in an ambient environment

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a novel method for measuring radiation pressure in ambient conditions using a macroscopic oscillator, achieving accurate results that align with theoretical models, unlike previous nano-scale cryogenic approaches.

Contribution

It introduces the first experimental demonstration of radiation pressure measurement with a macroscopic oscillator in ambient environment, expanding practical measurement capabilities.

Findings

Radiation pressure measured with 3.9% accuracy

Good agreement with harmonic oscillator model

First demonstration in ambient conditions

Abstract

In contrast to current efforts to quantify the radiation pressure of light using nano-micromechanical resonators in cryogenic conditions, we proposed and experimentally demonstrated the radiation pressure measurement in ambient conditions by utilizing a macroscopic mechanical longitudinal oscillator with an effective mass of the order of 20 g. The light pressure on a mirror attached to the oscillator was recorded in a Michelson interferometer and results showed, within the experimental accuracy of 3.9%, a good agreement with the harmonic oscillator model without free parameters.