What is light?

Professor Philippe Smet of Ghent University (Faculty of Science, Department of Solid-State Sciences) has been researching light for 20 years. So, he is the man to explain exactly what light is.

Professor Philippe Smet of Ghent University (Faculty of Science, Department of Solid-State Sciences) shows how to trap light yourself, why the sky is blue and how to build a spectroscope.

Yes, of course plants need light to grow, we remember that from biology class. But light does not only influence plant growth, it does much more. Professor Kathy Steppe from the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering is excited about the insights her plant research is providing. Possibilities that reach into space.

A simple question, but one with a not so simple answer. Or, to be precise, no single answer. To a physicist, light has a very different meaning to, say, a philosopher. Three scientists shine their own light on light.