Number 294 (Story #3), November 6, 1996 by Phillip F. Schewe and Ben Stein PHOTONIC CRYSTALS NOW OPERATE IN THE NEAR INFRARED. These structures are to optics what semiconductors are to electronics: they allow the passage of light at some wavelengths but exclude light in certain other energy ranges (also called photon bandgaps). Since the first photonic crystals (operating at microwave wavelengths) were developed several years ago, researchers have attempted to move toward the visible, where potential technological applications beckon. Scientists at the University of Glasgow and the University of Durham have now constructed a tiny wafer riddled with 100-micron holes which exhibits the lowest-wavelength photonic bandgap yet: 800- 900 nm. (Thomas F. Krauss et al., Nature, 24 October 1996.)