First Liquid-Cooling Laser Could Advance Biological Research (washington.edu)

Zothecula writes: In a world where lasers are sci-fi's weapon of choice for melting away an enemy spaceship, researchers at the University of Washington have swum against the current and produced the first laser capable of cooling liquids. " They demonstrated that the laser could refrigerate saline solution and cell culture media that are commonly used in genetic and molecular research. To achieve the breakthrough, the UW team used a material commonly found in commercial lasers but essentially ran the laser phenomenon in reverse. They illuminated a single microscopic crystal suspended in water with infrared laser light to excite a unique kind of glow that has slightly more energy than that amount of light absorbed. This higher-energy glow carries heat away from both the crystal and the water surrounding it." The technology could be especially useful for slowing down single cells and allowing scientists to study biological processes as they happen.

Comments

Maybe don't assume all readers are idiots.

[mpoulton]

"To achieve the breakthrough, the UW team used a material commonly found in commercial lasers but essentially ran the laser phenomenon in reverse. They illuminated a single microscopic crystal suspended in water with infrared laser light to excite a unique kind of glow that has slightly more energy than that amount of light absorbed."

That is the most detailed explanation in the article of what this phenomenon is and how it works. No names, either for the phenomenon or the materials involved. No numbers, or even quantitative comparisons. No links to the actual research. Who do they think reads this stuff? Random people aren't looking at long-form articles on research posted to university websites. Their whole audience would appreciate a lot more detail than they're giving us.