There’s a Chinese proverb that says, “It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.” Indeed, humans have for millennia sought light, needed light, been fascinated by light. From Euclid, who postulated in Optica (ca. 300 B.C.) that light traveled in straight lines, to Einstein, who in 1905 revealed that light traveled at a constant speed, our species has spent considerable time and energy on matters concerning this intangible quantity. Fire, the sun, even light bulbs, have illuminated our lives and given us warmth; natural or man-made, these kinds of light stimulate our senses of sight and touch.

But there is another type of light that has inspired wonder and investigation. It is quite different from that emitted by the sun or the lamps in your home. It is “cold light” that does not generate heat. Is this counterintuitive, going against the rules of science and logic? Appearing in nature and created by a variety of factors, cold light, or luminescence, is real, a fascinating phenomenon that touches our lives in unique, intriguing ways.

An incredible interaction between the Sun and the Earth paints the skies over our polar regions with a vibrant palette of dancing colors. But the aurora borealis is much, much more than a pretty picture: It could help us understand our world — and the space around it — in ways that will make our lives better and safer.

• Read more

Have you ever wondered how a firefly ignites its “fire”? Welcome to the world of bioluminescence, where nature has given the gift of light to some of the most intriguing organisms on Earth. You’ll learn how these creatures glow — and how their unique ability has helped researchers make tremendous scientific breakthroughs.

• Read more

Your cell phone might contain a technology that’s revolutionizing our idea of light. It’s called organic light-emitting diode (OLED), and it’s a method of generating light with organic compounds and electricity. See how it works, its many applications and why so many are saying it’s the biggest thing since the light bulb.

• Read more

Observing the Pulse of Life in Living Cells As science applies increasingly intricate methods to study cell activity with “fluorescence observation,” Nikon has responded with its A1 series of confocal microscopes to support advanced research and study in the field of cellular biology.

We introduce the profiles of contributors to this edition.

• Details

• THEMIS
  The education and public outreach team of the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) is comprised of educators, science museum personnel and scientists. Its website features pictures of the northern and southern lights, as well as tutorials about the physics of the aurora and the magnetosphere.
• The Bioluminescence Web Page
  Now in its 10th year, the Bioluminescence Web Page is hosted by the department of Biological Sciences at the University of California, Santa Barbara. It is a one-stop clearinghouse for everything dealing with bioluminescence: photos, explanations, myths, discussions and research networks.
• OLED Association
  The OLED Association promotes and tracks the progress of this dynamic lighting technology. It contains up-to-the-minute news about industry events and OLED applications in world markets.
• Solar-Terrestrial Environment Laboratory, Nagoya University
  Operated under an inter-university collaborative system in Japan, the Solar-Terrestrial Environment Laboratory was established to conduct and promote comprehensive research on the solar-terrestrial environment.

Updated May 15, 2009