Novel devices known as topological lasers can prove more efficient at shining light than conventional lasers. Now scientists have created the first electrically driven topological laser that works at room temperature, which could find use in telecommunications.

Topology is the branch of mathematics that investigates what aspects of shapes can survive deformation. For example, an object shaped like a ring may deform into the shape of a mug, with the ring’s hole forming the hole in the cup’s handle. However, this object could not deform into a shape without a hole without changing into a fundamentally different shape.