Optical Kerr Effect
The optical Kerr effect, or AC Kerr effect is the case in which the electric field is due to the light itself. This causes a variation in index of refraction which is proportional to the local irradiance of the light. This refractive index variation is responsible for the nonlinear optical effects of self-focusing, self-phase modulation and modulational instability, and is the basis for Kerr-lens modelocking. This effect only becomes significant with very intense beams such as those from lasers.
Read more about this topic: Kerr Effect
Famous quotes containing the words optical and/or effect:
“There is an optical illusion about every person we meet.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“At first I intended to become a student of the Senate rules and I did learn much about them, but I soon found that the Senate had but one fixed rule, subject to exceptions of course, which was to the effect that the Senate would do anything it wanted to do whenever it wanted to do it.”
—Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933)