The Science of Light
We cannot help but be fascinated, inspired, and moved by light. Whether we are trying to make sense of the rising and setting of the sun, the movements of celestial bodies, or how certain colours, reflections, and refractions invoke a sensory reaction in each of us, light is a phenomenon that never ceases to provoke wonder and curiosity. This quest to define light has sparked some of the finest minds of history, starting with the origins of optics in Euclid's Ancient Greece, and running as a glowing and unbroken thread throughout the ages. The Enlightenment revelled in its findings revolving around light, the sun, and the stars, with Newton's light particle theory coming up against Huygens and Young and their notions of light waves. Between them, the foundations for a modern understanding of this most essential of elements were formed, and our knowledge of light grew ever brighter, its mysteries brought further out from the shadows.
The 20th century was a period of feverish discovery in the realm of physics and optics, accelerated exponentially by the brilliance of Einstein. His ground-breaking theory of general relativity unleashed a Pandora's box of realisations, transforming our notions of the nature of light and the fabric of the universe. Later came Stephen Hawking, who utilised an altogether more human approach to black holes, light singularities, and a wider universe; something which opened the eyes of the public and scientific community further than ever, transforming our understanding of light while catalysing research into this inexhaustive area of study.
The tireless work of these illuminated minds and their contemporaries achieved so much more than deepening our understanding of the nature of light. They showed us the furthest reaches of the void, expanded the horizons of our planet into deep space, and initiated our journey towards understanding the birth of our universe and our place within it. Through their knowledge of light, the way it moves and reacts, and how its purity contains spectrums traveling unimaginable distances, we have been able to see further than ever before.
Einstein may have been one of the brightest minds of history, yet he'd be the first to agree that his words were anything but irrefutable truths; merely an important step on the path towards proveable fact. In fact, even his most famous claims about the constant speed of light in a vacuum have been, not long ago, questioned and refuted. Recent years saw the rise of new theories, first suggested by Hawking, which claims that in the earliest moments after the big bang, the speed of light was both variable and infinite, conjuring up images of the entire universe being illuminated at all points at once. ; one glorious moment at which light, time, and gravity expanded in harmony. This in turn has catalysed further questions, further paradigms of understanding, and further ways to understand light and its mysteries anew.
As we move towards the third decade of the 21st century, the science of light shows no signs of slowing down in its ferocity for understanding.
Much of the most recent fervor in the world of physics and optics surrounds the discovery of orbital angular momentum, a term referring to the way light can be twisted into a spiral to form intense beams. These spiraling and rotating beams of light are, right now, being used to further an impressive range of technologies, from massively increasing the amount of data transmitted through fiber-optic cables, to increasing the potential of microscopy, and allowing for the manipulation of nanoparticles , quantum dots, and living cells.
Once it was recognized that the twisting of light into rotating beams was possible, it wasn't long before scientists began searching for ways to speed up or slow down that rotation, in order to alter the ways such beams could be used. By creating light pulses in higher or lower frequencies, a phenomenon known as 'self-torque' can be generated, demonstrating that the behavior of light in certain precise circumstances is far from constant, and the possibilities of this understanding are potentially limitless.
The science of light as defined by La Prairie seeks to understand the various factors that impede skin's luminosity. In pursuing their research, the scientists at La Prairie asked themselves a simple, essential question: what if there were a way to decode skin's luminosity? A new chapter in La Prairie's heritage of bold scientific research has thus come to light.
Following years of research, La Prairie has developed a full ritual that provides extraordinary illumination to the skin. White Caviar creations not only have never-before-seen results in diminishing chromatic disturbances in the skin, they also increase the reflection of light by perfectly smoothing the skin's surface and densifying the skin.