The nanophotonics orchestra presents: Twisting to the light of nanoparticles

Upon illumination with red light, third harmonic scattered light ( in violet ) reveals the twist of metal nanoparticles. Physicists at the University of Bath observe a new physical effect in chiral (twisted) nanoparticles. Last updated on Thursday 23 September 2021 - Physics researchers at the University of Bath discover a new physical effect relating to the interactions between light and twisted materials - an effect that is likely to have implications for emerging new nanotechnologies in communications, nanorobotics and ultra-thin optical components. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Italian master craftsman Antonio Stradivari produced musical instruments of legendary quality, and most famous are his (so-called) Stradivarius violins. What makes the musical output of these musical instruments both beautiful and unique is their particular timbre, also known as tone colour or tone quality. All instruments have a timbre - when a musical note (sound with frequency fs) is played, the instrument creates harmonics (frequencies that are an integer multiple of the initial frequency, i.e. 2fs, 3fs, 4fs, 5fs, 6fs, etc. Similarly, when light of a certain colour (with frequency fc) shines on materials, these materials can produce harmonics (light frequencies 2fc, 3fc, 4fc, 5fc, 6fc, etc.