In less than 100 seconds, William Wadsworth reveals how he can create bespoke colours of laser light by shining a high-power laser at glass. To explain what is taking place within the glass, Wadsworth uses the analogy of a ball stuck at the bottom of a valley that can be kicked to move it up and down the asymmetric hills on either side. In a similar way, electrons inside the atoms of glass can be given a “kick” with a high-power laser, causing them to oscillate over a range of frequency components – corresponding to different colour emissions.
If lasers are your thing, then don’t forget to also check out the Physics World Focus on Optics & Photonics. This free-to-read issue includes a special feature about the giant laser interferometers underpinning the latest searches for gravitational waves.
- With 2015 being the International Year of Light (IYL 2015) we have also produced a special edition of Physics World devoted to light and its varied applications in our lives. If you’re a member of the Institute of Physics (IOP), you can get immediate access to the special issue about light in our lives with the digital edition of the magazine on your desktop via MyIOP.org or on any iOS or Android smartphone or tablet via the Physics World app, available from the App Store and Google Play. If you’re not yet in the IOP, you can join as an IOPimember for just £15, €20 or $25 a year to get full digital access to Physics World.
