"Dr. Chunlei Guo at the University of Rochester has developed a method of altering the properties of metal so that it will even help water defy gravity. The trick is in changing the metal using a laser,but not just any laser – a femtosecond laser. Dr. Guo is a professor of optics at the University of Rochester. He and his assistant, Anatoliy Vorobyev have been experimenting with the effect that a femtosecond laser has on metal. He has changed the color of such metals as Platinum, silver and aluminum by changing the properties of the metals using the laser. The femtosecond laser works as follows: …a femtosecond laser, produces pulses lasting only a few quadrillionths of a second—a femtosecond is to a second what a second is to about 32 million years. During its brief burst, Guo’s laser unleashes as much power as the entire electric grid of North America does, all focused onto a spot the size of a needlepoint…. The laser causes the surface properties of the metal to change by forming nanostructures on the surface. These nanostructures can change the color of silver to blue permanently or allow metal to redirect water to flow up instead of down." - Susan Beebe from Bookmarklet