Talk:Photonics

Comments
The part below has been removed from the main "Photonic page" I think it is not proper to mix content with creators' and editors' names.

inappropriate terminology
the vernacular "light" used here, apparently a neologism of "telecommunications network operators" in the subdiscipline that calls itself "photonics," is incorrect. if vernacular "light" means a photon, then photonics is just applied radiology loosely defined and must deal with microwave, radio wave and gamma ray signal manipulation. if it does not, then this should be specified: if what is intended is radiation in the optical range (for example, that can be carried by fiber cables), then "optical radiation" is accurate and unambiguous. and photons are not "light" -- light comprises only those photons that stimulate the human visual sense. "visible light" is a tautology, "infrared light" is an oxymoron and "x ray light" is something from pulp science fiction. for that matter, photonics is not a "science" but an engineering technology; it applies scientific understanding to practical problems, like any other engineering endeavor. overall this article has dragged encyclopedial objectivity into trade school misnomer. Drollere (talk) 16:37, 13 October 2020 (UTC)

Researchers in photonics
--Sergiusz 22:00, 10 Apr 2004 (UTC)
 * Sajeev John
 * Eli Yablonovitch
 * K.M. Ho
 * C.T. Chan
 * C.M. Soukoulis
 * John Joannopoulos
 * Yoel Fink
 * Cyrus Cantrell
 * Sergiusz Patela

The "other" photonics
In science land we define photonics by the band structure of light that is created basically by very tiny regular arrays of holes on the size scale of the wavelength of the incident light. In fact opalescence is a well known photonic phenomenon that (in nature) is the result of tiny regular arrays of spheres that cause different wavelengths of light at different angles and polarizations to refract non uniformly... At any rate the result is the photon analog of an electronic band structure which is where the term "photonic" comes from. I think this entry needs to include this definition of photonics as, from my point of view, it is far more common than the definition provided. I am definitely not the person to write such an entry though as I know very little about photonics. Fearofcarpet 17:48, 18 Mar 2005 (UTC)


 * I think you are confusing the noun "photonics" with the adjective "photonic", as in "photonic crystals" and "photonic bandgap". Most applications of photonic phenomena fall into the field of photonics, but the field is broader than that. Photonic crystals already have their own page, and it is linked to from this page.--Srleffler 06:39, 18 November 2005 (UTC)

University programs in photonics
Please note that this is a photonics’ page. Please provide links to photonics program descriptions, curricula etc. Links to university home pages or laboratory staff listing are not relevant here. --Sergiusz 20:44, 24 August 2005 (UTC)

I have removed the list of university programs in photonics, per the policy that Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information. If Photonics were a rare discipline, it would be relevant to list the few schools that have programs in it. It is clear from the size of the list, though, that this is not the case. Articles on subjects should not generally contain a list of universities where that subject is taught. Such a directory is best hosted elsewhere.--Srleffler 00:52, 18 April 2006 (UTC)

Photonic Clocking
I was just reading about photonic clocking on Slashdot RSS　EMail; it seems like its important.--McDogm 09:53, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

Updates to main page
I have rewritten the introduction, primarily, taking into account what was already provided by earlier writers and editors. IMHO a key issue for "Photonics" is the overlapping use of synonymous terms. Another challenge arises because "Photonics" is virtually without bounds and is evolving as we speak.

I agree that the condition of the page was not ripe for a listing of key photonics researchers. I have linked the inventors of the first room temperature diode laser which I believe is timely given relevance to "Photonics" at the introductory level.

Perhaps someone else can add more to this page by the time I visit it next.

Jabeles 00:36, 27 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Jabeles, the lead is way too long now. It includes a lot of pieces that should be moved into the history section, and maybe could use another section on something like "subfields and related fields".  And while you're at it, it would sure be useful to have references to go with all that stuff. Dicklyon 01:36, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

Dicklyon, thanks for pointing out that deficiency. I've put in a bit of work rearranging the material into a new second section. Please feel free to contribute as you see fit. Same goes for others. I think the history of photonics needs, at this point to include some of the important work in 1960s such as that of Yariv (one example) and many others. We should work our way from the 1960s forward in time, not the 2000's backward (that may have been the intent originally).

Jabeles 21:05, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

Too comms focused
The section on photonic research is very narrow, only covers optical communication topics - I'm sure there are many more. Does anyone have time to update? --Opticalgirl (talk) 12:27, 31 October 2010 (UTC)

Relationship Between Optics and Photonics
The Optics article says "Optics is the branch of physics which involves the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it.[1] Optics usually describes the behavior of visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light. Because light is an electromagnetic wave, other forms of electromagnetic radiation such as X-rays, microwaves, and radio waves exhibit similar properties".

The Photonics articles says "The science of photonics[1] includes the generation, emission, transmission, modulation, signal processing, switching, amplification, detection and sensing of light. The term photonics thereby emphasizes that photons are neither particles nor waves — they are different in that they have both particle and wave nature. It covers all technical applications of light over the whole spectrum from ultraviolet over the visible to the near-, mid- and far-infrared. Most applications, however, are in the range of the visible and near infrared light".

There seems to be a large overlap. Discuss.109.154.68.246 (talk) 09:08, 4 March 2011 (UTC)


 * If we describe electronics as signal processing with electrons, by analogy we could say photonics is signal processing with photons. or maybe "Photonics is the control, manipulation, transfer and storage of information using light." from [ What is Photonics? ] ? - Rod57 (talk) 18:08, 12 April 2013 (UTC)


 * The lead is fine as written. Optics and photonics are different topics. What more can I say? Read both articles again, several times, and think about what you're reading. User:Linas (talk) 03:11, 2 December 2013 (UTC)

contradictory caption
The picture caption talks of "waves of photons". This makes about as much sense as "deserts of water". Someone should rethink and rewrite the caption. WilliamSommerwerck (talk) 22:33, 18 June 2012 (UTC)
 * Makes lots of sense to me. Photons come in waves. You should think of oceans, not deserts, when thinking about water. And, when thinking about photons, you should think about waves. Photons are merely quanta by which electromagentic waves are emitted and absorbed, see quantum harmonic oscillator for mathematical exposition. See Talk:Hanbury Brown and Twiss effect for a discussion about what happens when you think photons are, ummm ... 'particles'. They are .. and yet they're really waves. User:Linas (talk) 03:16, 2 December 2013 (UTC)  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 223.197.173.236 (talk)

Pix or it ain't so
''Note that this is an erroneous depiction of how a prism is supposed to "split" light into component "parts" in geometric precision, both within the prism and outside the prism. Actual light through a prism shows no spectrum within the prism. Nor does it appear immediately out of the prism. The band of yellow-to-red and the band of blue-to-violet emerge from the edges, while a beam of white is still visible in the middle. The green color develops further out when the polar colored light bands disperse and unite.

Great takedown. The credibility of the picture is now in the basement. Maybe you should have simply have deleted this monstrosity. A pity.

But is there a more accurate "artist's depiction" in existence somewhere? Or are there only explorer's diaries and text fragments? A picture is worth a thousand words. 178.38.18.115 (talk) 17:19, 27 June 2015 (UTC)

Suggested external link
The Encyclopedia of Laser Physics and Technology (https://www.rp-photonics.com/encyclopedia.html), authored by myself, was once listed as an external link, but removed by Chuck Sirloin on 4 October 2007, as I just noticed. I suggest that this link is reinserted (now with https), as that encyclopedia provides a huge amount of high-quality information on a wide range of topics in photonics.

RPaschotta (talk) 14:03, 16 August 2015 (UTC)


 * Unless the information in the encyclopedia is a unique resource that can't be incorporated in the article, it shouldn't be an external link. See WP:ELNO #1. --Kkmurray (talk) 20:37, 16 August 2015 (UTC)


 * Quite obviously, we cannot incorporate the content of an encyclopedia with far over 600 articles into Wikipedia. Certainly, it is a unique resource, and it is extremely popular. I can't see why an external link on it should not be appropriate. Does anybody know a better online resource in photonics? Any more comments?


 * RPaschotta (talk) 08:59, 13 February 2017 (UTC)

I again suggest the inclusion of the following external link to my encyclopedia:

RP Photonics Encyclopedia

I find the previous objection based on WP:ELNO #1 inappropriate: obviously, one can't argue that the content of a large encyclopedia (now having 938 articles) should better be included in Wikipedia. For users, it is potentially very useful to be informed about a comprehensive open-access resource.

RPaschotta (talk) 08:45, 14 February 2020 (UTC)

I want to suggest once more to install an external link to the RP Photonics Encyclopedia (https://www.rp-photonics.com/encyclopedia.html). I can't see what kind of link could be more appropriate than one to the probably most helpful resource in that area.

RPaschotta (talk) 09:40, 4 February 2021 (UTC)

is it actually a photonics wafer


New to talk pages, feel free to provide guidance on how this works.

The last image on the article (shown right) does not appear to be photonics-related, and does not have a caption on the page itself.

Here's the link to the offending section.

Carterpape (talk) 14:05, 1 August 2018 (UTC)
 * Sorry for belated request but I would like to see the source of this image explaining what kind of devices it depicts. AXO NOV  (talk) ⚑ 10:37, 31 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Well spotted. I've removed the image as the uploader never suggested it is photonics-related. If it is, we should expect some more details and evidence. MichaelMaggs (talk) 11:17, 31 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Thanks for heads up. AXO NOV  (talk) ⚑ 10:44, 5 September 2021 (UTC)

Luminous computing
Not sure whether it's worth mentioning at the page but the company luminous computing seems to be working on a photonic chip, ie for machine learning purposes. Genetics4good (talk) 08:10, 7 September 2019 (UTC)
 * If you have enough sources you surely can mention it. AXO NOV  (talk) ⚑ 10:45, 5 September 2021 (UTC)