Just fantasies? 

H.G. Wells isn’t just a renowned writer – he is also a scientist. Born to a family of a maid and a gardener, he managed to win a scholarship to study biology at the Normal School of Science in London, after which he enrolled in the University of London to further pursue his field of study. Wells completed his Bachelor’s program and many years later (in 1942), he received his PhD. In 1988, he found work as a teacher and started to publish his research papers. But it wasn’t until the age of 27 that he started in journalism and later fiction.

“On the surface, his novels and The War of the Worlds in particular may seem as a fruit of his creative mind, but in fact, H.G. Wells didn’t make up the stories; he had an interest in physics, biology, and some other fields and turned to them as a tool to draw readers’ attention to real-world problems,” stressed Van Gulinyan, a laboratory assistant at ITMO’s Faculty of Physics. 

Lasers in a sci-fi world… 

“Suddenly there was a flash of light, and a quantity of luminous greenish smoke came out of the pit in three distinct puffs, which drove up, one after the other, straight into the still air. <...> At the same time a faint hissing sound became audible. <...> Then slowly the hissing passed into a humming, into a long, loud, droning noise. Slowly a humped shape rose out of the pit, and the ghost of a beam of light seemed to flicker out from it. Forthwith flashes of actual flame, a bright glare leaping from one to another, sprang from the scattered group of men. It was as if some invisible jet impinged upon them and flashed into white flame. It was as if each man were suddenly and momentarily turned to fire.”

That’s the first mention of the laser in Wells’s The War of the Worlds: in the book, the Martians invade Earth with unknown-to-human heat rays that can join metal, evaporate water, and break glass. 

And here’s how these heat rays work: 

“It is still a matter of wonder how the Martians are able to slay men so swiftly and so silently. Many think that in some way they are able to generate an intense heat in a chamber of practically absolute non-conductivity. This intense heat they project in a parallel beam against any object they choose, by means of a polished parabolic mirror of unknown composition, much as the parabolic mirror of a lighthouse projects a beam of light.”

Wells’ contemporaries, as well as characters of his novels, didn’t believe that such weapons could be real. Albert Einstein himself was in doubt of the idea till he discovered the law of the photoelectric effect – the backbone of LEDs, solar panels, and modern laser systems – for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921. As light photons reach the surface of a material, they transfer a sufficient amount of energy to electrons and tear them out of the surface, causing them to lose some of their energy that converts into an electric current. 

“Wells’ description of lasers was not far from the truth. Lasers are indeed built as a closed chamber full of energy. The energy is enhanced not so much by parabolic mirrors, as Wells guessed, but rather by an active element. At the same time, characters see the consequences caused by the heat-ray – such as a burned tree – but not its path. Most likely, the writer referred to an infrared laser invisible to the human eye. But in reality, we can see a laser if its light wavelength is visible,” explained Van Gulinyan.

… in reality

Nowadays, lasers have many uses, from metal joining and cancer treatment to barcode scanning and smoothing down walls – and even scientific experiments and development of novel products. 

For instance, researchers at ITMO use a multipurpose robot complex to imbue the surfaces of dental and skull implants with antibacterial and biocompatible properties that make implants last longer. A laser beam also made it possible for the university’s physicists to twist photons for collider experiments and produce fluorescent microparticles beneficial in visualizing blood vessels from the inside and delivering treatments and enzymes in biomedicine.

And last but least, ITMO scientists managed to create the most compact nanolaser in the world, breaking their own record. The laser can be used to develop fine parts for digital microdevices and wellness equipment. 

A multipurpose robot complex in action. Credit: Evgeniy Shamshin

Van Gulinyan’s lecture “200 Years Ahead: Predictions in H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds That Have Proven True” is a part of a pop-sci lecture series organized by ITMO’s Faculty of Physics and the Mayakovsky Central Public Library. In their talks, scientists deciphered the rights and wrongs in sci-fi movies and books, explored the concepts and theories that inspired writers, and pinpointed the ideas that will never come to reality.