Specklorn: Laser Speckle
Optics, Waves & Sound arc, page 120 of 193. Back to The Pixelated Physics Universe
Who they are
Specklorn has one line, and says it often: “Coherent light. incoherent talk.”
Specklorn is a character of the Optics, Waves & Sound arc: drawn in pixels, ruled by one piece of real physics, and never allowed to break it.
The physics
Fully developed laser speckle has contrast C = σI/⟨I⟩ = 1.
$$ \begin{gathered} C = \frac{\sigma_I}{\langle I \rangle} = 1 \end{gathered} $$
| Symbol | Meaning | SI unit |
|---|---|---|
| $C$ | speckle contrast | — |
| $\sigma_I$ | standard deviation of intensity | W/m^2 |
| $\langle I \rangle$ | mean intensity | W/m^2 |
Sources
- J. W. Goodman, Speckle Phenomena in Optics (Roberts, 2007)
Crossovers
Specklorn meets Twissa & Hanbra (Hanbury Brown–Twiss Effect). Specklorn's speckle is the intensity pattern of coherent light scattered off a rough surface, with contrast 1. Twissa and Hanbra measure the same statistics in time: chaotic light has g⁽²⁾(0) = 2.
Specklorn meets Harmonel (Green Laser Frequency Doubling). Harmonel's green pointer is coherent, so it speckles. Specklorn says that contrast of 1 is the mark of fully developed speckle.
Wear the lore
Concept keywords: Laser Speckle, Specklorn, Optics, Waves & Sound, physics lore, Pixelated Physics