Microspheres, Photonic Atoms and the Physics of Nothing
By Stephen Arnold
Light can become trapped within tiny, transparent spheres. The surprising properties that result may turn "microsphere photonics" into an important new technology
This Article From Issue
September-October 2001
Volume 89, Number 5
Page 414
DOI: 10.1511/2001.34.414
The transfer of energy between neighboring molecules plays a pivotal role in nature. In photosynthesis, for example, a plant fuels its metabolism and growth with sunlight by taking advantage of a curious physical phenomenon that allows energy to hop from one chlorophyll molecule to another situated about a half a nanometer away.
Photograph courtesy of Stephen Arnold.
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