| Alain Haché | |
|---|---|
| Born | 14 December 1970 Tracadie, NB |
| Residence | Moncton, NB |
| Citizenship | Canadian |
| Fields | Physics, Photonics, Optics |
| Institutions | Université de Moncton |
| Alma mater | B.Sc. – Université de Moncton Ph.D – University of Toronto |
| Notable students | Louis Poirier |
| Known for | Supraluminal phenomena in photonic crystals Canada Research Chair in Photonics 2003–Present |
Alain Haché (born 14 December 1970, in Tracadie, New Brunswick) is an experimental physicist, a professor at the University of Moncton, Canada.[1][2] Since 2003 he holds the Canada Research Chair in Photonics.[3] He is also the author of The Physics of Hockey, a popular science book on ice hockey.[1][4]
In 2002, he and undergraduate student Louis Poirier transmitted faster-than-light electrical pulses through a 120-metre long "photonic crystal" made of coaxial cables of alternating characteristic impedance (12 pairs of 50 Ω and 75 Ω cables).[5][6] The experiment showed that the pulse envelope was recreated at the end of the cables at a speed of >3 c. Since this speed represents the group velocity but not the signal velocity, no energy or information was actually traveling faster than light.