The International Day of Light is held on May 16th every year, the anniversary of the first successful operation of the laser in 1960 by physicist and engineer.
The laser is a perfect example of how a scientific discovery can yield revolutionary benefits to society in communications, healthcare and many other fields.
For interest, you can find here some of the laser history, but note that the International Day of Light is not just about lasers and science. It also includes aspects of art, culture, entertainment – everywhere light is present in fact!
We love lasers and will of course celebrate! This year together with you in our Laser lounge to discuss one of our favourite topics:
High performance lasers: What exactly do we mean?
Date: Tuesday May 18th
Time: 16:00 CEST (central européan summer time)
You’ll hear what we think defines a laser as high performance and see how we ensure our high performance lasers are actually high performance.
Join us for a virtual coffee for 30 min to listen to our Technical Quality Manager and CEO discuss high performance lasers, peak into our lab to see how we measure high performance lasers and have an opportunity to ask us questions. The perfect way to help us celebrate the International Day of Light on May 16th!
The aim of the International Day of Light is to:
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Improve the public understanding of how light and light-based technologies touch the daily lives of everybody, and are central to the future development of the global society.
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Build worldwide educational capacity through activities targeted on science for young people, addressing issues of gender balance, and focusing especially on developing countries and emerging economies.
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Highlight and explain the intimate link between light and art and culture, enhancing the role of optical technology to preserve cultural heritage.
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Enhance international cooperation by acting as a central information resource for activities coordinated by learned societies, NGOs, government agencies, educational establishments, industry, and other partners.
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Emphasise the importance of basic research in the fundamental science of light, the need for investment in light-based technology to develop new applications, and the global necessity to promote careers in science and engineering in these fields.
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Promote the importance of lighting technology and the need for access to light and energy infrastructure in sustainable development, and for improving quality of life in the developing world.
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Raise awareness that technologies and design can play an important role in the achievement of greater energy efficiency, in particular by limiting energy waste, and in the reduction of light pollution, which is key to the preservation of dark skies.
#LightDay2021
