[Steely Tom]

This would seem to me to be a Big Deal!

This is indeed a big deal. The emitter is much smaller than a wavelength of light. This means that the light emitted from it will be coherent if it is monochromatic (which seems to be the case). Thus IBM has created one element of an optical phased-array antenna. This technology could be used to produce lasers of very high power.

There are many other interesting things that can be done with this technology.

(steely)

[CFC__VRWC]

Might we be seeing the embryonic form of a missile defense system that doesn't require launching and directing a projectile?

[Redcloak]

This means that the light emitted from it will be coherent if it is monochromatic (which seems to be the case).

I'm hoping that it's incoherent light. I could use a short coherence length source at 1.5 µm; something besides an Erbium doped source. (Er has a nasty bump in the spectrum that screws up my interferograms.) These little babies might give me the spectrum I need.

[roadcat]

"There are many other interesting things that can be done with this technology."

I want a light-weight hedge-trimmers, or replacement for my chain-saw. That would be a blast, one wave of my hand-held hig-power laser to trim the hedges. Of course I'll have to have a water hose handy.

[expatpat]

The light from any one nanotube will be spatially coherent itself, but it's not clear that light from different nanotubes are temporally coherent with each other, which would be needed for a phased-array.