New material puts a twist in light
FollowA team from the Research School of Physics and Engineering have uncovered the secret to twisting light at will. It is the latest step in the development of photonics, the faster, more compact and less carbon-hungry successor to electronics.
A random find in the washing basket led the team to create the latest in a new breed of materials known as metamaterials. These artificial materials show extraordinary properties quite unlike natural materials.
“Our material can put a twist into light – that is, rotate its polarisation – orders of magnitude more strongly than natural materials,