Spring SAVY 2018, Day 1- Biophotonics (5th/6th)
To kick off the Biophotonics course, we discussed some of the basic properties of light including light’s wave-particle duality as seen in this video. We explored different situations in which it is more useful to think about light as a wave like when light travels through space or think about light as a particle like when light enters biological tissue. As an electromagnetic wave, light is part of the electromagnetic spectrum which we used to investigate the relationship between wavelength, frequency, and energy. Students also got hands-on experience using optical fibers which allow scientists and doctors to deliver light to specific locations. Unfortunately, we did not have time see how white light refracts through water droplets, but luckily, you can do this at home! If you place a small droplet of water on a phone screen displaying a white image, you can see the white light separate into different colors along the edges of the droplet as seen in the picture above. Lastly, we learned how lasers function and their unique properties.
I hope everyone had a great weekend, and I am looking forward to seeing everyone next week when we will be investigating laser-tissue interactions!
Graham