Fibre Broadband Set for Boost as UK Scientists Uncover Hidden Property of Light

A team of researchers from the University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich, England, has “uncovered a hidden property of light” that allows it to controllably twist, spin and behave differently – without mirrors, materials or special lenses. In theory this could allow future optical (fibre optic) based broadband connections, among other things, to carry significantly more data.

Modern fibre optic networks can already do some amazing things with the different colours and other properties of light from a laser. Needless to say, the tiny strand of optical fibre cable that reaches most UK homes could one day, with current developments, be set to carry multiple Terabits per second of data into your house (such speeds are already possible on bigger core and international links).

However, we still haven’t reached the limits of how much information light can carry, which is something that the UEA team underlined after they showed that light can also be “programmed” simply by exploiting its natural geometry. In short, they found that light can develop chiral behaviour – meaning it can “act like a left or right hand” – while travelling freely through space, which can be controlled.

Many molecules, including those used in medicines, come in left and right-handed forms that look almost identical but can behave very differently inside the human body. To tell them apart, scientists often use special forms of light that spin either clockwise or anticlockwise. Until now, creating and controlling this kind of light required carefully engineered surfaces, exotic materials or extreme focusing using powerful lenses – limiting the practical applications. But that is about to change.

Dr Kayn Forbes, UEA’s School of Chemistry, Pharmacy and Pharmacology, said:

“Our work shows that light can naturally develop this handed behaviour all on its own. You just have to prepare it in the right way.

Most people think of light as travelling in straight lines. But scientists can also create structured light – light whose brightness, shape and direction are carefully arranged.

One extreme example is light that twists as it travels, forming a corkscrew shape known as an optical vortex. Each twist can carry information, making this kind of light valuable for high-speed internet, secure communications and advanced sensors.

Light can also spin as it travels, depending on how it is polarised. This spin can be left-handed or right-handed – another form of chirality.”

Previously it was assumed that the interactions between the spin and twist of light were incredibly weak (i.e. only detectable under special conditions), but this appears not to be the case. In fact, if the light is prepared in a carefully balanced state, its spin can appear naturally as it moves through empty space. “No mirrors. No special materials. Just light propagating freely,” said the team.

The reason this happens stems from topology – a branch of maths that focuses on properties that stay the same, even when objects are stretched or reshaped. The new approach offers a completely new tuning knob for light. By adjusting its topology, the team were able to decide how and where chirality appears, which is a big leap.

In theory this could be harnessed in a variety of different ways, such as for packing more information into multiple twisting and spinning states of light to boost fibre optic data capacity and security. Not to mention compact optical sensors capable of identifying biological and chemical substances quickly, cheaply and without laboratory‑grade equipment. Other possibilities include more robust quantum technologies, simpler medical and pharmaceutical tests and more.

Naturally it will take time to evolve this research into practical applications, and we don’t yet know exactly how much faster it could make fibre optic networks. But no doubt the UEA or other research teams will soon be working to find an answer to that, before trying to demonstrate any new developments that may emerge from this work.

“For something so familiar, light is proving to be far richer, stranger and more powerful than anyone imagined. And astonishingly, this new behaviour has been there all along — just waiting to be seen,” added Dr Forbes.

Nature Paper – Topological control of chirality and spin with structured light
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41377-026-02278-6