Resumo A implementação de atividades práticas que envolvam cores constitui uma estratégia poderosa para estimular o interesse de crianças e adolescentes para a Ciência. Devido ao seu forte apelo visual e presença no cotidiano, as cores despertam a curiosidade dos estudantes e propiciam o aprendizado de conceitos fundamentais no campo da óptica, tais como reflexão, transmissão e refração. Nesse trabalho, descrevemos um programa de atividades desenvolvido para ensinar conceitos de óptica presentes na formação de cores a partir de materiais simples, baratos e acessíveis. Através de demonstrações abertas e discussões autônomas por parte dos estudantes, elucidamos o processo de formação de cores por reflexão e transmissão, bem como a razão pela qual se pode visualizar objetos incolores. As atividades aqui descritas foram apresentadas num evento de divulgação científica direcionado a crianças e adolescentes com idade entre 8 e 17 anos.

Abstract The implementation of practical activities that involve colors consists in a powerful strategy to stimulate the children and teenagers' interest in Science. Due to its strong visual appeal and presence in everyday life, colors spark students' curiosity and allow the learning of fundamental concepts in Optics, such as reflection, transmission and refraction. In this work, we describe a program of activities developed to teach concepts of Optics present in color formation by means of simple, cheap and accessible materials. Through open demonstrations and the students' autonomous discussion, we clarify the process of color formation by reflection and transmission, as well as the reason by which we can observe colorless objects. The activities described here were presented in a science outreach event directed to children and teenagers with ages ranging from 8 to 17 years old.

In this second part it will be discussed some photonic applications of glassy and glass ceramic thin films which can be used as planar waveguides. Some photonic applications require certain specifications of glass, which can be quantified by studying the nonlinear optical properties of the materials. Therefore, a brief introduction of these phenomena is discussed, as well as the use of femtosecond lasers to manipulate the composition or for the preparation of waveguides into glasses. Finally, the article will address a brief introduction on microstructured optical fibers and commercial application prospects for these devices.

2015 is the Year of Light, according to UNESCO. Chemistry has a close relationship with light and one of the materials that allows such synergy is glass. Depending on the chemical composition of the glass, it is possible to achieve technological applications for the whole range of wavelengths extending from the region of the microwave to gamma rays. This diversity of applications opens a large range of research where chemistry, as a central science, overlaps the fields of physics, engineering, medicine, etc., generating a huge amount of knowledge and technological products used for humanity. This review article aimed at discussing some families of glasses, illustrating some applications. Due to the extension of the theme, and all points raised, we thought it would be good to divide the article into two parts. In the first part we focus on the properties of heavy metal oxide glasses, fluoride glasses and chalcogenide glasses. In the second part we emphasize the properties of glassy thin films prepared by sol-gel methodology and some applications, of both glasses as the films in photonics, and more attention was given to the nonlinear properties and uses of photonic fibers.