Physics
Nonlinear Optics
Quick fact
In nonlinear optics, two red photons can combine to create a single blue photon with double the energy, a process called second harmonic generation.
Why this is interesting
You know that a magnifying glass focuses sunlight to a bright spot, but the light remains the same color. What if you could focus light so intensely that it changes color—turning red into blue, or even making invisible infrared light visible?