The International Day of Light and the 2018 EPS-Edison-Volta prize
The International Day of Light, chosen by UNESCO to celebrate the light, all over the world, on May 16 of each year, had its first edition in Italy in the beautiful setting of the Teatro Sociale in Como. The ceremony took place in a gala evening where the scientific event was accompanied by music, readings and illusionism performance having light as an inspiring theme.
International Day of Light sees worldwide success
On 16 May 2018 the first International Day of Light celebrated the vital role of light and related technologies in science, culture and art, education and sustainable development. More than 600 events were held in 87 countries reaching hundreds of thousands of people, and a spectacular afternoon and evening celebration was also held at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France.
Light, Colour and Vision
Celebrating is a term that we frequently use, without often grasping its value. Latins used celebratus, past participle of celebrare, in the meaning of “to perform publicly with appropriate rites”. This definition contains two important aspects: on the one hand honouring something; on the other hand doing it in a public way, trying to share it with others.
How to trick light into flexing its muscles
Light consists of a flow of photons. If two waveguides – cables for light – lie side by side, they attract or repel each other. The interaction is due to the optical force, but the effect is usually extremely small. Physicists at Chalmers University of Technology and Free University of Brussels have now found a method to significantly enhance the optical force. The method opens new possibilities within sensor technology and nanoscience. The results were recently published in the prestigious scientific journal Physical Review Letters.
UNESCO proclaims May 16th as the International Day of Light
PARIS, 14 November 2017: The 39th Session of the UNESCO General Conference has today proclaimed the date of May 16th as the International Day of Light. The proclamation of this annual International Day will enable global appreciation of the central role that light and light-based technologies play in the lives of the citizens of the world in areas of science, technology, culture, education, and sustainable development.
Editorial – Light to Enlighten
In our role as researchers and teachers we work to increase the knowledge, use it and transmit it to new generations of scientists.
At the same time, our global citizenship is often confronted with technical, cultural, ethical and social issues needing scientific knowledge not available to the average citizen. Direct engagement with the public helps us to understand their interest for science and their doubts and concerns.
Researchers from China Obtain High-quality InGaAs/GaAsSb Superlattice Structures
IInGaAs/GaAsSb superlattice structure is very attractive in photodetectors and light emitting devices. However, the growth of high quality GaAsSb alloys is a challenge. Recently, a research team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has successfully obtained high quality InGaAs/GaAsSb superlattice structures based on a broad analysis of growth mechanisms [1].
The first ever photograph of light as both a particle and wave
Light behaves both as a particle and as a wave. Since the days of Einstein, scientists have been trying to directly observe both of these aspects of light at the same time. Now, scientists at EPFL have succeeded in capturing the first- ever snapshot of this dual behavior.
Quantum mechanics tells us that light can behave simultaneously as a particle or a wave. However, there has never been an experiment able to capture both natures of light at the same time; the closest we have come is seeing either wave or particle, but always at different times. Taking a radically different experimental approach, EPFL scientists …
Read about light!
A selection of publications on light by Physics World, EPL, Journal of Optics, the Amercian Physical Society, Springer and Elsevier.
EPS Young Minds at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light
The second Autumn Academy at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light took place from 30 September to 2 October 2013. The aim of this two-and-a-half day event was to introduce Bachelor and Master students to the fast moving field of optical sciences including topics such as quantum information processing, meta-materials, nano-optics, photonic crystal fibres, nonlinear optics, imaging and sensing. The response was excellent. From more than 70 applications, the EPS Young Minds section of Erlangen, Germany selected 26 students and invited them to Erlangen for a packed…
Featured in EPN
Most recent highlights from EPN:An eye-witness report on how the CD came about by Jacques HeemskerkPhysics funding at the German Research Foundation by Karin ZachThe scientific consensus on climate change – Combating a two-decade campaign attacking by John CookHow does light move? – Determining the flow of light without destroying interference by M.D. Davidović and A.S. Sanz
Honours abound for physicists in 2013
In the New Year’s Honours List of the United Kingdom, Professor Peter Higgs, Emeritus Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Edinburgh was appointed to the Order of the Companions of Honour, and two Fellows of the Institute of Physics were made Knights Bachelor – Professor Keith Burnett, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sheffield, and Professor David Payne, Director of the Optoelectronics Research Centre at the University of Southampton. Professor Burnett has carried out many pioneering studies in quantum optics and has been recognised for his services to science and higher education. Professor Payne was recognized for his services…
