E-Mail IMAGE: Newly developed ballistic optical materials consist of a composite of two transparent materials, creating a plasmonic material. view more Credit: Evan Simmons and Kun Li WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Electronics are increasingly being paired with optical systems, such as when accessing the internet on an electronically run computer through fiber optic cables. But meshing optics -- which relies on particles of light called photons--with electronics--relying on electrons -- is challenging, due to their disparate scales. Electrons work at a much smaller scale than light does. The mismatch between electronic systems and optical systems means that every time a signal converts from one to the other, inefficiency creeps into the system.