laser uses light to create sound tagged posts

A phonon laser formed by coupled optical resonators. Mechanical vibrations in resonator (blue) could be enhanced when the frequency difference of two optical supermodes matches with the frequency mechanical vibrations.
Credit: Micro/Nano Photonics Lab

New laser uses light to create sound. A team of international researchers led by engineers at Washington University in St. Louis has seen the light and now has a lasing system that produces “good vibrations.” They developed a lasing system already adept at producing tiny light packets called photons into a tunable system that also makes little bits of mechanical energy called phonons – the energy products of oscillation, or vibration...