Introduction

And there was light. There was still nothing, but you could see it a whole lot better. (Ellen DeGeneres)

• And God said, “Let there be light” and there was light, but the Electricity Board said He would have to wait until Thursday to be connected. (Spike Milligan)

• We have all the light we need, we just need to put it in practice. (Albert Pike)

CONTENTS

Summary ................................................................................................................ 19 Acknowledgment .................................................................................................. 20 References ............................................................................................................... 20

Although scientic inquiry into light began in the 1600s, it was only in 1960 that photonics and lasers were discovered. With this discovery, humans have learned how to design and manipulate light for many useful applications. We are now even more fascinated by the ability to harness light energy for dealing with important problems.