`Magic Mirror` Enhances Lasers

January 13, 1985|By Ronald Kotulak.

A ``MAGIC MIRROR`` that could greatly enhance the usefulness of lasers has been developed by University of California scientists. The new mirror, called the phase-conjugate mirror, reflects light directly back to its source, no matter at what angle it strikes the mirror, according to Jack Feinberg, one of the scientists. People using such a mirror to look at themselves would be frustrated because no matter how they turned it, the only thing they could see would be the irises of their eyes, he said. But the ability to bounce light directly back to its source makes it possible to aim a laser beam with absolute perfection--instantly, automatically, and with no distortion or error, he said. Aside from its military implications, the magic mirror could greatly improve the effectiveness of lasers in fiber optic communication, microchip etching, microsurgery, and satellite solar-energy transmission, Feinberg said.