Optics News

September 9, 2016

First Gravitational Waves Form Quickly

Printed Graphene For Paper Electronics

Keeping Cool Without Losing Your Shirt

Seeing Atomic Nuclei in Vibrating Molecules

Latest Headlines

updated 12:47am EDT

The Enigma Machine Takes a Quantum Leap

Sep. 6, 2016 — Researchers have moved beyond the theoretical in demonstrating that an unbreakable encrypted message can be sent with a key that's far shorter than the message -- the first ... read more

A First for Direct-Drive Fusion

Sep. 6, 2016 — New experiments have created the conditions capable of producing a fusion yield that's five times higher than the current record laser-fusion energy yield, as long as the ... read more

New Way of Taming Ions Can Improve Future Health Care

Sep. 7, 2016 — A group of researchers has discovered a completely new way of using lasers to accelerate ion beams. In time, the new technique could possibly give more people access to ... read more

Novel Nanoscale Detection of Real-Time DNA Amplification Holds Promise for Diagnostics

Sep. 7, 2016 — A novel label-free method of measuring DNA amplification in real time has now been developed by researchers. The technique detects changes in the ... read more

Tapping the Unused Potential of Photosynthesis

Sep. 7, 2016 — Scientists have reengineered the fundamental process of photosynthesis to power useful chemical reactions that could be used to produce biofuels, pharmaceuticals and ... read more

New Perovskite Research Discoveries May Lead to Solar Cell, LED Advances

Sep. 7, 2016 — 'Promising' and 'remarkable' are two words a scientist has used to describe recent research results on organolead mixed-halide perovskites. Perovskites are optically active, ... read more

Discovery Creates Future Opportunity in Quantum Computing

Sep. 6, 2016 — Perovskite systems have been shown to be highly efficient at converting sunlight to electricity. Now, scientists have discovered a new use for perovskites that runs counter to the intended usage of ... read more

New Breed of Optical Soliton Wave Discovered

Sep. 6, 2016 — Sharks and minnows: Scientists discover an optical soliton wave that rides with and feeds off of other soliton waves, much like a pilot fish with ... read more

New Sensor Could Help Fight Deadly Bacterial Infections

Sep. 6, 2016 — Scientists have built a new sensor that can detect the potentially deadly E.coli bacteria in 15-20 minutes, much faster than traditional lab ... read more

Low-Cost Solar Device Converts Sunlight to Steam in Dusty Environment

Sep. 6, 2016 — A novel, low-cost solar thermal energy conversion system has been developed that can easily generate steam from sunlight. The solar conversion system can help make ... read more

What Next for Gravitational Waves?

BMW Sets out Vision for the Future

Brightest Laser Blows Up Water in a Cinematic First

Ultra-Sensitive Camera Sees Around Corners

Containing Our 'Electromagnetic Pollution'

Sep. 8, 2016 — Electromagnetic radiation is everywhere -- that's been the case since the beginning of the universe. But the proliferation of electronics in recent decades has contributed both to the volume of ... read more

Super-Resolution Microscope Builds 3-D Images by Mapping Negative Space

Sep. 6, 2016 — Scientists have demonstrated a method for making 3-D images of structures in biological material under natural conditions at a much higher resolution than other existing methods. The method may help ... read more

A New Technique Opens Up Advanced Solar Cells

Sep. 2, 2016 — Using a novel spectroscopic technique, scientists have made a much-needed breakthrough in cutting-edge ... read more

New Microscope Images Single, Living Cells at Better Resolution and Lower Light Dose

Sep. 1, 2016 — Scientists invent a multi-view microscope that doubles the resolution of images without exposing them to an increased amount of light or prolonging the imaging ... read more

Electronic Circuits Printed at One Micron Resolution

Sep. 1, 2016 — A research team has developed a printing technique for forming electronic circuits and thin-film transistors (TFTs) with line width and line spacing both being 1 ?m. Using this technique, the ... read more

Invisibility Cloak With Photonic Crystals

Aug. 31, 2016 — Almost as elusive as unicorns, finding practical materials for invisibility cloaking is challenging. Researchers have new ideas how to solve that. They're using crystal "atoms" made of ... read more

Shape of 'Molecular Graphene' Determines Electronic Properties

Aug. 31, 2016 — Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) form an important class of molecules, which can be regarded as small graphene species and which play a prominent role in the development of organic electronics. ... read more

Lowering the Cost and Environmental Footprint of White LEDs

Aug. 31, 2016 — Replacing traditional light bulbs with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) could take a significant bite out of global energy consumption. But making white LEDs isn't completely benign or budget ... read more

Diamonds and Quantum Information Processing on the Nano Scale

Aug. 30, 2016 — Physicists have successfully demonstrated charge transport between Nitrogen-Vacancy color centers in ... read more

New Optical Material Offers Unprecedented Control of Light and Thermal Radiation

Aug. 30, 2016 — Engineers have discovered a new phase-transition optical material -- samarium nickelate -- and demonstrated novel devices that dynamically control light over a much broader wavelength range and with ... read more

Two-Photon Imaging of Meissner's Corpuscle Mechanoreceptors in Living Tissue

Aug. 30, 2016 — Researchers have demonstrated that Meissner's corpuscle mechanoreceptors can be observed in living tissue using two-photon ... read more

Colors from Darkness: Alternative Approach to Quantum Computing

Aug. 30, 2016 — Microwaves created at near absolute zero temperature provide uniquely correlated and controllable ... read more

Solar Cell Is More Efficient, Costs Less Than Its Counterparts

Aug. 29, 2016 — A team of researchers has developed a new solar cell that combines two different layers of sunlight-absorbing material to harvest a broader range of the sun's energy and that costs less than its ... read more

Poof! The Weird Case of the X-Ray That Came out Blank

Aug. 29, 2016 — Imagine getting a medical X-ray that comes out blank – as if your bones had vanished. That’s what happened when scientists cranked up the intensity of the world’s first X-ray laser to get a ... read more

Electrons With No Mass Acquire a Mass in the Presence of a High Magnetic Field

Aug. 29, 2016 — An international team of researchers has discovered that in a very high magnetic field an electron with no mass can acquire a mass. Understanding why elementary particles have a mass is a fundamental ... read more

Crystal Unclear: Why Might This Uncanny Crystal Change Laser Design?

Aug. 26, 2016 — New research suggests that the relatively large crystals used to change several properties of light in lasers -- changes that are crucial for making lasers into practical tools -- might be created by ... read more

Electrons at the Speed Limit

Aug. 26, 2016 — Electronic components have become faster and faster over the years, thus making powerful computers and other technologies possible. Researchers have now investigated how fast electrons can ultimately ... read more

More to Rainbows Than Meets the Eye

Aug. 25, 2016 — In-depth review charts the scientific understanding of rainbows and highlights the many practical applications of this fascinating interaction between light, liquid and ... read more

New Diagnostic Instrument Sees Deeper Into the Ear

Aug. 25, 2016 — A new device could greatly improve ear infection diagnoses and drastically reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions, a major cause of antibiotic ... read more

Admitting Visible Light, Rejecting Infrared Heat

Aug. 25, 2016 — The transparency of glass to visible light makes it the most common way to let light into a building. But because glass is also transparent to near-infrared radiation -- windows also let in heat, ... read more

Thursday, September 8, 2016