Expectance of shining of light from opaque material is impossible. And yet, the researchers at the Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science and University of Twente have worked and managed to enhance transmission of light through opaque material by shining it along special paths. This could lead to a better understanding of the transport of light through materials such as skin.
The phenomenon through which light is diffused is when light waves come into contact of an object of homogenous structure or with an uneven surface. Thus it becomes impossible to see as through skin, clouds or paper because of diffusion. These examples of materials are largely opaque and only in small percentage of the light can perforate through them.
Yet these materials do have open channels, special paths through the materials that the light waves can follow and it doesn’t matter how thick the material is? Student pursuing Utrecht Ph.D. named Jeroen Bosch has discovered these open channels to send much light through an opaque material.
Ping Pong with Light
In order to detect precisely how the light should be projected on the materials, the researchers “played ping pong” with the light. They describe how they had sent the light through materials in a random manner, and then we use data about the scattering of the light to send it along the same path in a slightly different manner. Bosch also explains about “way, more light passes through material.” Repetition of process several times and sending back the light back and forth through the materials let to the discovery of what shape of light wave must have in order to make its way through the materials.
Difference in all colours
The front edge of the light wave or the shape of front wave explains the degree to which the light can penetrate through the materials. And the optimal shape of the wave front is different for every colour of the light. Further on how the principle works is been explained that all wavelengths works under this principle but for each wavelength there is only a single shape of wave front that works.
To see less and less light to penetrate through the materials, then fixing the shape of the wave front and then changing the wavelength will make it possible. The wavelength knowledge dependency of open channels provided and resulted in help to researchers with a measurement for the ‘path length’ of these open channels. The answer of how light travel to special paths through diffusive materials, which extremely useful for looking into and through such materials
