You’ve heard about how lasers work, but what does this mean for science?! We see everyday how light interacts with matter. Ever wonder how a rainbow is formed? Or why your straw looks bent or even broken when it is placed in a cup of water? Both of these phenomena have to do with light interacting with matter. If we use high powered lasers as our source of light we can observe even more awesome effects—yes, cooler than a rainbow.
So back to how a straw appears to break in a cup of water.

The straw appears “broken” due to a property of light known as refraction. Image adapted from source.






