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Sonic lasers--a shot heard 'round the world
University researchers in England and the Ukraine have built a laser that emits high-frequency sound waves instead of light beams.
Called simply the "saser," the acoustic laser uses packets of sonic vibrations called "phonons" much like a regular laser uses photons.
Specifically, the acoustic laser device consists of a sonic beam traveling through a "superlattice" constructed of 50 sheets of material each only atoms thick that are alternately made of gallium arsenide and aluminium arsenide, two materials found in semiconductors.
Sasers could have "significant and useful applications in the worlds of computing, imaging, … Read more
