Th light does not move backwards, but it is returning going the opposite direction. The whole argument that this "backwards" light moves faster than "forward" light is based on the conjecture that the "backwards" light goes faster due to it arriving sooner at the metamaterial. The "backwards" light apparently goes fast enough to make contact with the metamaterial just as the normal light does, making in seem instantaneous. The difference is how the light is refracted in different materials.
In normal materials, the atomic dipole (atoms and their charges), light is bent more strongly than if they were bent by an elecromagnetic force (metamaterial). So, I think, that the normal light gets slowed down a little due to passing through the material, and passing through the metamaterial, not so much. Note, the light appears faster because our eyes were designed to only truly see normal acting stuff. Compared to the time it takes normal light to go through the object and return to the eye, this "backwards" light looks faster than what we would normally see. In space or a vacuum, they probably move at near the same if not equal speed.
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Topic: hmm..what do you guys think backwards light would look like? (Read 1050 times)