Ripping a hole in space and time

In an unassuming laboratory at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, they are ripping a hole in the fabric of space and time.

Not too far away, they are working with information that can mean two things at once.

They are two separate studies, but what they have in common is the interaction of light and matter.

Together they've won 3m Euros (£2.3m) in research funding. The money has come from the EU's European Research Council as part of a programme to encourage creativity in research.

Dr Daniele Faccio is working on a laser which emits pulses 100 times a second. The power of each pulse is measured in trillions of watts. He prefers to think of it as 10,000 times the power of a nuclear power plant.

He is using it to create an analogue black hole.