Optical ring resonators

Imagine a tiny ring made of a special kind of material that can bend light. This ring is so small that you can't see it without a microscope. When you shine light on the ring, it can bounce around inside the ring many times before it comes out the other side.

This bouncing around happens because the material of the ring has a special shape that makes the light want to stay inside. We call this bouncing "resonance," which is like when you swing on a swing and you keep going back and forth because you push at just the right time.

Now, this special little ring can be used to do some really cool things. For example, if we put tiny devices called waveguides that can send light into and out of the ring, we can make the light get stuck in the ring for a long time. This means that we can use the ring to detect tiny changes in things like temperature, pressure, and even the presence of certain molecules!

Scientists use optical ring resonators because they can be very sensitive and precise, which helps us learn more about the world around us. Cool, huh?