On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the invention of the laser, both Nature and Science magazine have highlighted cavity optomechanics as one of the most promising fields in laser- and quantum science. A trends session at APS-March Meeting in Portland, Oregon, presented the field of optomechanical devices as one of the fast-moving fields of physics.
The field of cavity optomechanics has been appointed as Nature Milestone with the reason that it exploits the interactions between photons and mirrors in table-top experiments that should, one day, be able to shed new light on the boundary between classical and quantum mechanics. Moreover, cavity optomechanics might allow quantum behavior to be observed in a macroscopic system.
Science published a News focus Article regarding this "burgeoning field":
> News Focus: "Putting Light's Light Touch to Work As Optics Meets Mechanics"
> Talk "optomechanical devices" at the trends session at APS-March Meeting
> "Faintest Thrum Heralds Quantum Machines" - Science Magazine, by Adrian Cho