10/10/2024 – To celebrate its 33rd edition, the Fête de la Science is focusing on the theme ‘An Ocean of Knowledge’. Water, the source of life, is at the heart of today’s concerns. The oceans cover more than 70% of our planet’s surface and play a vital role in climate regulation, oxygen production and biodiversity. This year’s Fête de la Science aims to raise public awareness of these major environmental, scientific and societal issues. On the programme: astronomy, computing and digital technology, robotics… and of course PHOTONICS!
So, as every year, Photonics Bretagne was at the Village des Sciences in Lannion from 4 to 6 October, alongside other organisations.
In keeping with the theme of ‘An Ocean of Knowledge’, we’ve been looking at the scourge of ocean pollution caused by plastics (sweet wrappers, cake wrappers, etc.), which, because they’re transparent, can’t be seen in the water. So how do we reveal them?
Our teams have come up with an animation showing young and old how light can be used to detect transparent microplastics. The polarisation properties of light are used to reveal plastics that are invisible to our eyes. The public could also see how to topograph the ocean floor, i.e. measure its relief, using so-called ‘time-of-flight’ cameras (a kind of radar camera).
Our 2 other experiments also attracted a lot of curiosity from the large audience:
- How are optical fibres made and how do they enable us to communicate almost instantaneously with anyone, anywhere in the world (email, video, online games, etc.)?
- How can photonics be used to measure and monitor the health of plants, to find out if they are thirsty or ‘hungry’, or if they have enough vitamins and energy? This knowledge will help us to better manage crops, which is essential in view of the climate changes we are facing.
Not to mention the photonics events put on by the Trégor Photonics Student Club, ENSSAT – École Nationale Supérieure des Sciences Appliquées et de Technologie, and the Cité des Télécoms.
A lecture was also given on Saturday afternoon on ‘Photonics: the science and technology of light’, followed by presentations and workshops at a number of secondary schools during the following week.
Another great Fête de la Science this year! Well done everyone, and thank you for sharing your passion for science and light technologies. See you in 2025 for more scientific, educational and fun demonstrations!
