29/10/2025
What’s red, green and blue, and all around us? 🤔
Photonics, the science of light that powers everything from phone screens to Wi-Fi!
It’s easy to overlook, but light-based technology plays a huge part in almost everything we do, and powers key moments in our daily lives.
🕕 07:00 Wake up: Your phone alarm starts ringing. It’s driven by an LED display – that’s photonics
🪞 07:30 Getting ready: Check your reflection under the bathroom light; those LEDs use optics to create a natural glow
🚦 08:00 Daily commute: Traffic lights, car sensors and even the barcode scanners in shops, as you rush to grab the office milk, all use laser and photonic systems
💻 09:00 Work mode on: From the fibre-optic cables behind your Wi-Fi to the laser printers in your office, photonics keeps your connection (and your paperwork) flowing
🍞 13:00 Lunch break: Industrial lasers have cut and marked the packaging you scan while deciding between a ham or cheese sandwich, and optical sensors help check food quality and safety
📺 19:00 The evening unwind: That crisp TV picture is made possible by optical filters, coatings and precision lenses, bringing your favourite shows to life
🌙 22:30 Head to bed: From streetlights guided by optical sensors to your phone’s ambient light detector dimming your screen, photonics keeps things safe and comfortable after dark.
Photonics shapes every part of our day, and it’s often more than we realise.
