Chinese scientists invent laser so powerful it can write words in mid-air

Scientists in China have invented a powerful laser which can essentially scorch the air to create patterns. Lasers have already been used to create optical illusions, but they needed dust or clouds as a medium.

The Wuhan-based team demonstrated the laser by writing Chinese characters in the air, which can be viewed and even touched.

The laser works by stripping the electrons off air molecules using ultra-short laser pulses and turning them into light, thus creating a ghostly image floating in mid air. The researchers hope the technology can be implemented in various fields, ranging from brain imaging, to quantum computing, reported South China Morning Post.

“With the brand new device, we can draw in the air without using paper and ink,” Cao Xiangdong, lead scientist at the Hongtuo Laboratory of Ultra-Fast Laser in Wuhan’s optics valley, told Science and Technology Daily. “The display is an accumulation of our research over more than a decade.”