Localization of Light
Intensity distribution for light in a disordered medium such as white paint or sugar. The numerous overlapping interference peaks indicate that the light can diffuse through the sample.
Localization of the light in a medium with a high index of refraction halts diffusion and the light intensity peaks are isolated. (Images courtesy Ad Lagendijk, Van der Waals-Zeeman Laboratory, the Netherlands, and colleagues.)
This research is discussed by Diederik S. Wiersma, Paolo Bartolini, Ad Lagendijk & Roberto Righini in the 18/25 December 1997 issue of
Nature.
Link to Physics News Update Item on this research (Available January 26, 1998)
