idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
idw - Informationsdienst
Wissenschaft
Scientists at the University of Marburg have developed a wave plate which can turn the polarization state of terahertz waves. The Prof. Martin Koch group reports on this in the scientific journal Optics Express (B. Scherger, et al. Optics Express 19, 24884 (2011)). The wave plate consists of paper and is based on the principle of the so-called form birefringence.
Thin strips of paper are stacked in a way that there is a thin gap of air between every other piece. If polarized terahertz waves transmit through this paper structure under a certain angle, their polarization state is turned. For certain frequencies the turning amounts to 90 degrees. In this case, the device acts as a half wave plate. The paper wave plate is more efficient and markedly cheaper than more elaborately produced counterparts, e.g. from metamaterials.
In order to prove that production of this terahertz component is as easy as child’s play, Benedikt Scherger and Prof. Martin Koch visited a local kindergarten near Marburg. The preschoolers devotedly produced paper strips which were combined to form a wave plate. Afterwards, the children could convince themselves of the operational reliability of their construction in the lab.
Contact: Professor Dr. Martin Koch,
Tel.: 06421 28-22119
E-Mail: martin.koch@physik.uni-marburg.de
The preschoolers devotedly produced paper strips which were combined to form a wave plate.
(Philipps-Universität Marburg / AG Koch)
None
The children could convince themselves of the operational reliability of their construction in the l ...
(Philipps-Universität Marburg / AG Koch)
None
Criteria of this press release:
Journalists
Physics / astronomy
transregional, national
Miscellaneous scientific news/publications, Research results
English
You can combine search terms with and, or and/or not, e.g. Philo not logy.
You can use brackets to separate combinations from each other, e.g. (Philo not logy) or (Psycho and logy).
Coherent groups of words will be located as complete phrases if you put them into quotation marks, e.g. “Federal Republic of Germany”.
You can also use the advanced search without entering search terms. It will then follow the criteria you have selected (e.g. country or subject area).
If you have not selected any criteria in a given category, the entire category will be searched (e.g. all subject areas or all countries).
