LiquidCrystalElastomers
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Advanced sensors could use rubberized laser beams
Lasers usually conjure up the image of bulky devices with mirrors inside that shine a coherent beam out one end. However, scientists from Kent University have created a model that's just a flat piece of stretchy LCE (liquid crystal elastomer) film. That material is like a rubberized version of the liquid crystals used in displays and is often used to make artificial muscles. When hit with a simple laser light source, the film produces a new laser beam that changes frequency when force is applied. That alone is cool (to laser people), but the new material may also result in a new class of sensors that can measure forces with extreme accuracy and relay the results over fiber optic cables.
