• Question: What would the opposite of a laser be and what would it be used for?

    Asked by kentf002 to Mike, Pip, Tianfu, Tim, Tom on 29 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: Tom Lister

      Tom Lister answered on 29 Jun 2012:

      A resal. This would be used just like those ink-eraser pens when I make a mistake.

      From a scientific point of view, it would be something that absorbs one particular colour of light and then produces a white light (made up of many colours). This could be used like a lamp?

    • Photo: Tim Stephens

      Tim Stephens answered on 29 Jun 2012:

      Perhaps a white light generator. You can use special optical fibre (specifically Photonic Crystal Fibre) to create a type of white light called a super-continuum, which is very useful for spectroscopy.

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