2015 is the anniversary of some important milestones in the history of optical science. The International Year of Light and Light-Based Technologies (IYL 2015) is a global initiative adopted by the United Nations to promote the important technological achievements related to “light” in human history. From the publication of Ibn Al-Haytham’s “Book of Optics” in 1015, to the notion of light as a wave proposed by Augustin-Jean Fresnel in 1815, and also Charles Kao’s achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibres for optical communication in 1965, it is evident that the development of optical science and technology has brought huge advancement for human civilization in just a thousand years.
In the International Year of Light, Communications Museum has created a new interactive exhibit - “Optical Phone”. Its concept originates from the photophone proposed by Alexander Bell. After his invention of telephone in 1876, Alexander Bell continued and soon successfully experimented on the photophone, which he regarded it as his greatest inventions. When the visitor takes up the torch of the exhibit, points the light beam at the receiver on the opposite side and talks to the phone, the light beam will change according to the voice. Light signal will be transformed into electric signal through the receiver so that the recipient can hear the voice of the sender on the phone. Therefore, visitors can operate the “Optical Phone” as a “wireless phone”, and share the excitement of photophone invention by Alexander Bell more that a hundred years ago.
Schools are welcomed to book the activities of the IYL, including science demonstrations, workshops, electronic courses, talks of Science College and the “SciTech Talk - Optogenetics” by the Macau Society of Biomedical Engineering. The “Halloween Pumpkin” workshop which is part of the “LED festival” workshops for the public, will be held at the Communications Museum in the afternoons of October 31. Participants are welcomed to join by online registration. They will learn the basic principles of LED and make a special festive lamp stand. For details, please visit http://macao.communications.museum.
