Researchers from the University of Maryland developed a way to make air act like optical fibers to guide light beams over long distances without losing power. The “air waveguides” were created using very short and powerful laser pulses.
The air waveguides contain a core of high-density air encased with a wall of low-density air. The wall of low-density air has a lower refractive index than the core, similar to an optical fiber. When a laser pulse is sent through the waveguide, the pulse collapses into a narrow beam. Student researchers tested the method using a laser to create a spark through the waveguide. The waveguide guided light from the spark to a detector that was approximately a meter away. They found that the signal through the waveguide was 1.5 times stronger than without using the waveguide.
