What would be interesting is if there was a way to use lasers to alter molecules in a way that permitted them to absorb all wavelengths of light. Then you really could turn things black with lasers, without having to char the paper. You just turn its molecules into weird resonance structures that are so amorphous they can find a way to absorb any photon (any photon above infrared at least; it’s got to release the energy somehow).
What would be interesting is if there was a way to use lasers to alter molecules in a way that permitted them to absorb all wavelengths of light. Then you really could turn things black with lasers, without having to char the paper. You just turn its molecules into weird resonance structures that are so amorphous they can find a way to absorb any photon (any photon above infrared at least; it’s got to release the energy somehow).