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Atmospheric science

Lasing on a cloudy afternoon

Brief, high-intensity laser pulses can cause water droplets to emit white light. The technique can potentially be used to analyse the composition of clouds and shed light on how clouds may be affecting climate.

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Figure 1: Reach for the clouds.

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Borrmann, S., Curtius, J. Lasing on a cloudy afternoon. Nature 418, 826–827 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/418826a

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