Optics News

September 20, 2024

Top Headlines

In Step Toward Solar Fuels, Durable Artificial Photosynthesis Setup Chains Two Carbons Together

Sep. 17, 2024 — A key step toward reusing CO2 to make sustainable fuels is chaining carbon atoms together, and an artificial photosynthesis system can bind two of them into hydrocarbons with field-leading ...

An OLED for Compact, Lightweight Night Vision

Sep. 17, 2024 — A new type of OLED (organic light emitting diode) could replace bulky night vision goggles with lightweight glasses, making them cheaper and more practical for prolonged use, according to ...

New Technology Produces Ultrashort Ion Pulses

Sep. 17, 2024 — New technology has allowed scientists to create ultra short ion pulses, with a duration of less than 500 picoseconds. This can be used to analyze materials or even make chemical reactions visible in real ...

Shedding Light on Superconducting Disorder

Sep. 16, 2024 — The importance of disorder in physics is only matched by the difficulty to study it. For example, the remarkable properties of high-temperature superconductors are greatly affected by variations in the chemical composition of the solid. Techniques ...

Latest Headlines

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Coronavirus Spike Proteins Can Be Selectively Detected in 5 Minutes

Sep. 19, 2024 — Can an immunoassay be created and selectively detect a virus in under 5 minutes? In a new study, researchers report that it can be done using a low-power laser like a laser pointer with a little ...

Molecular Level Changes Translate to Big Efficiency Gains for Organic Solar Cells

Sep. 10, 2024 — Researchers have designed and synthesized a new organic semiconductor for organic solar cells (OSCs). By adding specific side units to their ...

Wearable Brain Imaging Device Shines a Light on How Babies Respond in Real-World Situations

Sep. 11, 2024 — A technology which uses harmless light waves to measure activity in babies' brains has provided the most complete picture to date of brain functions ...

Invisibility Cloaks? Wave Scattering Simulation Unlocks Potential for Advanced Metamaterials

Sep. 12, 2024 — Could invisibility cloaks become a reality? New research brings this science fiction concept a step closer, with a breakthrough software package that ...

Hair-Thin Wire to Help Simulate Cosmic Conditions

Sep. 12, 2024 — Extreme conditions prevail inside stars and planets. The pressure reaches millions of bars, and it can be several million degrees hot. Sophisticated methods make it possible to create such states of ...

Microscale Robot Folds Into 3D Shapes and Crawls

Sep. 11, 2024 — Researchers have created microscale robots less than 1 millimeter in size that are printed as a 2D hexagonal 'metasheet' but, with a jolt of electricity, morph into preprogrammed 3D shapes and ...

Unique Nanodisk Pushing Photonic Research Forward

Sep. 11, 2024 — Researchers have succeeded in combining two major research fields in photonics by creating a nano-object with unique optical qualities. Since the object is a thousand times thinner than the human ...

Cooling Positronium With Lasers

Sep. 11, 2024 — Most atoms are made from positively charged protons, neutral neutrons and negatively charged electrons. Positronium is an exotic atom composed of a single negative electron and a positively charged ...

Electrically Modulated Light Antenna Points the Way to Faster Computer Chips

Sep. 9, 2024 — Physicists present a nanometer-sized light antenna with electrically modulated surface properties -- a breakthrough that could pave the way for ...

Now Live: Living Cells Can Be Seen With Infrared Light

Sep. 9, 2024 — Scientists captured clear images of biomolecules in single live cells in water for the first time using infrared (IR) transmission imaging. The IR technique enables researchers to measure the mass of ...

Revolutionary Visible-Light-Antenna Ligand Enhances Samarium-Catalyzed Reactions

Sep. 19, 2024 — Divalent samarium compounds are important reagents for reductive transformations in organic chemistry. However, currently, a high amount of this reagent is required in most reactions, and it also ...

Atoms on the Edge

Sep. 6, 2024 — Physicists directly observed ultracold atoms in an 'edge state,' flowing along a boundary without resistance. The research could help physicists manipulate electrons to flow without ...

Researchers Create a One-Dimensional Gas out of Light

Sep. 6, 2024 — Physicists have created a one-dimensional gas out of light. This has enabled them to test theoretical predictions about the transition into this exotic state of matter for the first time. The method ...

Shining Light on How Solar Power and Farming Can Coexist

Sep. 6, 2024 — Scientists have developed a new tool to help identify optimal photovoltaic (PV) materials capable of maximizing crop growth while generating solar ...

Major Leap for Nuclear Clock Paves Way for Ultraprecise Timekeeping

Sep. 4, 2024 — Nuclear clocks would measure time based on changes inside an atom's nucleus, which would make them less sensitive to external disturbances and potentially more accurate than atomic clocks. These ...

Fungus-Controlled Robots Tap Into the Unique Power of Nature

Sep. 4, 2024 — In creating a pair of new robots, researchers cultivated an unlikely component, one found on the forest floor: fungal mycelia. By harnessing mycelia's innate electrical signals, the researchers ...

Tiny New Lasers Fill a Long-Standing Gap in the Rainbow of Visible-Light Colors, Opening New Applications

Aug. 29, 2024 — It's not easy being green. Scientists for years have made small red and blue lasers, but other colors, including green, have been a challenge. A team has now filled this technology gap by ...

Engineers Develop All-in-One Solution to Catch and Destroy 'Forever Chemicals'

Aug. 28, 2024 — The system combines an activated carbon filter with a special, patented catalyst that traps harmful chemicals and breaks them down into harmless components on the filter ...

Breaking Open the AI Black Box, Team Finds Key Chemistry for Solar Energy and Beyond

Aug. 28, 2024 — Artificial intelligence is a powerful tool for researchers, but with a significant limitation: The inability to explain how it came to its decisions, a problem known as the 'AI black box.' ...

Researchers Shed Light on How to Make Photopolymerization Much More Efficient

Aug. 27, 2024 — Scanning ultraviolet (UV) light through a slit can boost the efficiency of photopolymerization reactions and produce polymers with higher molecular weight, scientists reveal. This straightforward ...

Preventing Counterfeiting by Adding Dye to Liquid Crystals to Create Uncrackable Coded Tags

Aug. 26, 2024 — A research group has developed an innovative approach to creating anti-counterfeiting labels for high-value goods. Their findings enhance the security of the currently used cholesteric liquid ...

AI Tackles One of the Most Difficult Challenges in Quantum Chemistry

Aug. 22, 2024 — New research using neural networks, a form of brain-inspired AI, proposes a solution to the tough challenge of modelling the states of ...

Physicists Shine New Light on Ultra-Fast Atomic Processes

Aug. 22, 2024 — Scientists report incredibly small time delays in a molecule's electron activity when the particles are exposed to X-rays. To measure these tiny high-speed events, known as attoseconds, ...

Freeze-Frame: World's Fastest Microscope That Can See Electrons in Motion

Aug. 21, 2024 — A team of researchers has developed the first transmission electron microscope which operates at the temporal resolution of a single attosecond, allowing for the first still-image of an electron in ...

Chalk-Based Coating Creates a Cooling Fabric

Aug. 21, 2024 — In the scorching heat of summer, anyone who spends time outside could benefit from a cooling fabric. While there are some textiles that reflect the sun's rays or wick heat away, current options ...

Quality Control: Neatly Arranging Crystal Growth to Make Fine Thin Films

Aug. 21, 2024 — Researchers have succeeded in forming metal-organic framework thin films on a substrate while controlling the growth direction of crystals so that they are arranged neatly without gaps. The resulting ...

Explanation Found for X-Ray Radiation from Black Holes

Aug. 20, 2024 — Researchers have succeeded in something that has been pursued since the 1970s: explaining the X-ray radiation from the black hole surroundings. The radiation originates from the combined effect of ...

Scientists Harness Quantum Microprocessor Chips for Revolutionary Molecular Spectroscopy Simulation

Aug. 20, 2024 — Engineering researchers have successfully developed a quantum microprocessor chip for molecular spectroscopy simulation of actual large-structured and complex ...

Expanding a Child's Heart Implant With Light

Aug. 19, 2024 — Children born with certain heart defects undergo a series of invasive surgeries early in life. The first surgery includes implantation of a shunt to improve blood flow. However, as children grow, the ...

New Microscope Offers Faster, High-Resolution Brain Imaging

Aug. 15, 2024 — Researchers have developed a new two-photon fluorescence microscope that captures high-speed images of neural activity at cellular resolution. By imaging much faster and with less harm to brain ...