We asked our colleagues what photonics means to them. It is so diverse! Lasers, science, business, industry, work, light, photons, waves, particles, quantum mechanics, energy, crystals, electronics, community, laser component manufacturers…
And it all revolves around the photon, a tiny particle but with a vast range of applications.
The term ‘photon’ was coined by physical chemist Gilbert Newton Lewis in 1926. The scientist expanded on Albert Einstein’s work on the photoelectric effect, which showed that light can behave like particles or quanta. Lewis suggested that such light quanta, or parts of electromagnetic radiation, be called photons. After all, the word itself means light, or phōs in Greek.
However, photonics as a scientific field that studies the excitation and application of electromagnetic radiation, whose quanta are photons, began to develop a bit later. And, of course, this happened with the invention of one of the most beautiful light sources we know – lasers! – in the 1960s.
Soon, other inventions followed: the laser diode, the optical fiber used for transmitting information, and the optical amplifier. These innovations laid the foundation for the telecommunications revolution at the end of the 20th century and helped create the infrastructure for the internet.
The term ‘photonics’ became firmly established in the 1970s when telecommunications network operators began using fiber optic technology.
Today, photonics is everywhere. Without its technologies, selfies would not exist. You would likely be reading this message in a newspaper, because the internet would not work without it. And think of all the medical devices, security technologies, solar energy solutions, and other everyday tools that rely on it! Essentially, imagine any modern device.
We celebrate Photonics Day today because, on October 21, 1983, the General Conference on Weights and Measures officially defined the exact speed of light as 299,792,458 meters per second – a milestone that continues to shape science and technology.
We wish the whole community:
