Scientists create tornado of light to power lasers, quantum devices

Scientists have developed a novel method to create "optical tornadoes" or optical vortices—tiny swirling light structures—using liquid crystals, a simple and scalable material. Traditionally, generating such complex light patterns required bulky or intricate nanostructures, limiting practical applications. By exploiting the unique properties of liquid crystals, the researchers engineered microscopic defects called torons, which act as traps for photons, enabling light to be confined and twisted inside these spiral-like formations. This approach draws inspiration from quantum physics, mimicking how electrons occupy energy levels, but applied to photons instead. A key innovation was inducing a synthetic magnetic field within the liquid crystal system, achieved through spatially varying birefringence. This engineered effect causes light to bend and spiral similarly to charged particles in a magnetic field, despite light’s usual insensitivity to real magnetic fields. The system was further enhanced by placing it inside an optical microcavity, allowing light to be confined longer and its properties tuned via external voltage. Crucially,