Laser twinkles in rare color
Tuesday, December 21, 2010 - 17:30
in Physics & Chemistry
December is a time for twinkling lights, and scientists are delivering. They've just produced a long-sought, rare color of laser light 100 times brighter than that generated anywhere else. The Free-Electron Laser delivered vacuum ultraviolet light in the form of 10 eV photons (124 nanometers). This color is called vacuum ultraviolet because it's absorbed by molecules in air, requiring its use in a vacuum.