Definition
Plain language
When two light waves are added together so precisely that they reinforce or cancel in a fixed, meaningful pattern instead of just blurring.
As stated in the literature
The addition of two mutually coherent optical fields with a stable relative phase; combined with square-law detection it produces a bilinear cross-term encoding the joint structure of the two inputs, the basis of the attention analogy in coherent-optics computing.
Why it matters: It lets light itself carry out certain calculations by combining signals, opening a path to computing that could be faster and use less energy than electronics.
For example, when two ripples on a pond meet crest-to-crest they combine into a taller wave, and crest-to-trough they flatten out — a fixed pattern rather than random churn.
Heard on the show
“The bilinear cross-term from coherent superposition plus square-law detection isn't a hidden phenomenon.”Episode 002 — An AI Ran a Real Optics Lab for 21 Hours and Found a Transformer-Shaped Pattern in Light