Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 20, 2026

Preparation of Large-area Vertical 2D Crystal Hetero-structures Through the Sulfurization of Transition Metal Films for Device Fabrication
Published on: November 28, 2017
Revisiting the Photon-Drag Effect in Metal Films
Jared H Strait1, Glenn Holland1, Wenqi Zhu1,2
1Physical Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA.
Abstract:
The photon-drag effect, the rectified current in a medium induced by conservation of momentum of absorbed or redirected light, is a unique probe of the detailed mechanisms underlying radiation pressure. We revisit this effect in gold, a canonical Drude metal. We discover that the signal for p-polarized illumination in ambient air is affected in both sign and magnitude by adsorbed molecules, opening previous measurements for reinterpretation. Further, we show that the intrinsic sign of the photon-drag effect is contrary to the prevailing intuitive model of direct momentum transfer to free electrons.
Related Concept Videos
Drag
08:50Preparation of Large-area Vertical 2D Crystal Hetero-structures Through the Sulfurization of Transition Metal Films for Device Fabrication
Buoyancy and Drag on Immersed Bodies
Objects, vehicles, and organisms immersed in fluid mediums experience forces from the surrounding fluid in the form of buoyancy- a vertical upward force due to fluid weight, drag- a resistive force opposite the direction of motion, and lift- a force perpendicular to the direction of motion. Prediction and characterization of these forces is...
Electroplating of Thin Films
Electroplating is a process that uses electric current to reduce dissolved metal cations so that they form a thin coating on an electrode. Other thin film deposition techniques include chemical vapor deposition (CVD), spin coating, dip coating, and sputter deposition among others. CVD uses a gas-phase precursor of the element to be...
09:14Paw-Dragging: a Novel, Sensitive Analysis of the Mouse Cylinder Test
Drag Force and Terminal Speed
