Optics

Whirlpools Of Light Lead To Nanostructured Glass

New nano-structured glass optical elements could significantly reduce the cost of medical imaging. In their Applied Physics Letters paper, the team describes how they have used nano-structures to develop new monolithic glass space-variant polarization con ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 14 2011 - 8:27pm

Toward An Optofluidic Solar Lighting System

Optofluidic solar lighting systems could mean a real boost in solar energy- they capture sunlight from a roof using a light concentrating system that follows the sun's path by changing the angle of the water's refraction, and then distribute the ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 11 2011 - 12:53pm

Triple Rainbows Confirmed To Exist (And Apparently Quadruple)

We've done articles on rainbows, and double rainbows and even showed you how to make a rainbow appear for that special someone- but have you ever seen a triple rainbow? ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 5 2011 - 11:48am

Cosmic Ray Detecting Thermometer

CMOS Imaging sensors are the sensor of choice for most consumer digital cameras. They tend to be cheap, low power, compatible with the fabrication equipment that much of modern digital electronics is manufactured on, and other than the very early generati ...

Article - Mi Cro - Mar 9 2012 - 5:36pm

Optical 'Periscope'- A Camera That Can See Around Corners

A new imaging system uses walls, doors or floors as 'mirrors' to gather information about scenes that it can't see, even though those objects are not reflective. Yes, it could ultimately lead to imaging systems that allow emergency responder ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 20 2012 - 2:12pm

Optomechanical Crystal: Future Blue Oyster Cult Concerts Will Be Awesome

Caltech researchers have created a nanoscale crystal device that allows them to confine both light and sound vibrations in the same tiny space. The interactions between sound and light in this optomechanical crysta can result in mechanical vibrations with ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 25 2012 - 9:59pm

Organic LEDS And Transparent Electronics

Your cay may soon have a new dashboard, one made of a flexible plastic and oxide layer that could be integrated into the car front window to give the driver direct information The MULTIFLEXIOXIDES project is designed to develop new cost-efficient, long las ...

Article - News Staff - May 14 2012 - 2:24pm

Brain Tissue Is Responsive To Light, Says Study

A recent placebo-controlled study showed evidence of trans-cranial bright light's effect to brain functions when administered through the ear. Bright light stimulation was found to increase activity in brain areas related to processing of visual sens ...

Article - News Staff - May 29 2012 - 11:14am

Atom Interferometry- Detecting The Undetectable

If one beam travels a fixed length and another travels an extra distance or in some other slightly different way, the two light beams overlap and interfere when they meet up, creating an interference pattern that scientists inspect to obtain highly precise ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 19 2012 - 7:00am

Plasmonic Nanolasers- A Laser The Size Of A Virus Particle

New single laser devices that are the size of a virus particle can also operate at room temperature. These plasmonic nanolasers could be readily integrated into silicon-based photonic devices, all-optical circuits and nanoscale biosensors.  We're goin ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 5 2012 - 11:00pm