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Reference.org
Nonlinear optics
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<p>Nonlinear optics (NLO) is the branch of <a href="/facts/Optics/p0vq4S1T">optics</a> that describes the behaviour of <a href="/facts/Light/jeofpMn4">light</a> in <a href="/facts/Nonlinearity/4aYItALC">nonlinear</a> media, that is, media in which the <a href="/facts/Polarization_density/2oQv9EHx">polarization density</a> P responds non-linearly to the <a href="/facts/Electric_field/tt4MooBs">electric field</a> E of the light. The non-linearity is typically observed only at very high light intensities (when the electric field of the light is >108 V/m and thus comparable to the atomic electric field of ~1011 V/m) such as those provided by <a href="/facts/Laser/jk6PTvvT">lasers</a>. Above the <a href="/facts/Schwinger_limit/JYh6oEgI">Schwinger limit</a>, the vacuum itself is expected to become nonlinear. In nonlinear optics, the <a href="/facts/Superposition_principle/GKGs9C92">superposition principle</a> no longer holds. </p>