Optics is an ever growing field with many advancements happening on a regular basis. This advancement is due to various companies pouring their revenue into Research and Development. The purpose of this site is to show where these advancements are leading the future of optics. The following provided links will provide you with information on various optical advancements and perhaps a glimpse into our future.
I would like to start by saying, I find spectroscopy to be particularly fascinating. This is a relatively new field with a wide variety of applications. I find it fascinating that we can use a beam of light to determine the make up of a material.
Imagine taking a video at one trillion frames per second. A trillionth of a second is a time frame I can barely begin to even fathom. Believe it or not though, it is possible. This technology is currently in the developmental stage but I believe that sooner than later it will be in our every day lives. What I am referring to is called Fempto Photography, and it has been developed by MIT, and promises to have several real world applications.
In the war against cancer, optics isn't simply standing by. Using nano-technology scientists have developed a laser treatment to kill cancer cells while leaving healthy tissue in tact. This promises to make cancer treatment as a whole less traumatic to the body.
Of course, everyone has heard of fiber optics for communication. But NASA is taking optical communication to a new level with research into using Laser Communications in space. Their hopes are to use this technology in communications with satellites and other missions involving rovers to provide better video communications with their machines.
Lasers are finding their way into more and more medical procedures. Recently lasers have been used to perform brain surgery for epilepsy patients in order to prevent seizures.
