Optics & Photonics: Twenty-First Century Technology
O+P SPOTLIGHT
Carole Montarou:
Optics and Photonics Education at Georgia TechNEWS & EVENTS
In the same way that electronics became pervasive in the twentieth century, optics and photonics will play a critical role in enabling the development and refinement of manufacturing, medical, sensing, telecommunications, and defense technologies in the twenty-first century.
Optics is the study and the manipulation of electromagnetic radiation. Optical scientists and engineers work primarily with the part of the spectrum that spans from x-rays to the far infrared. Optical engineers use the discoveries of scientists to design and fabricate optical equipment that advances industry and improves life by making products that are safer, faster, and easier to use.
Photonics is the technology that deals with the generation, manipulation, transport, detection, and use of light energy, whose quantum unit is the photon. Photons carry information through fiber optic cable, retrieve information in laser radar and other sensor devices, and can transport light energy (laser machining and laser surgery).
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