Relaying a message from point A to B can be as simple as flashing a thumbs-up at a stranger in an intersection, signaling them to proceed—nonverbal, clear, and universally understood. But light-based communication is rarely ...
Optics & Photonics
Sep 9, 2025
0
2
A team led by scientists at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have generated a highly exotic type of light beam, called a Poincaré beam, using the FERMI free-electron laser (FEL) facility in ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 14, 2025
0
16
An international team of astronomers using NASA's IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer), has challenged our understanding of what happens to matter in the direct vicinity of a black hole.
Astronomy
Aug 13, 2025
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69
By leveraging the concept of chirality, or the difference of a shape from its mirror image, EPFL scientists have engineered an optical metasurface that controls light to yield a simple and versatile technique for secure encryption, ...
Optics & Photonics
Jul 16, 2025
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43
How do we know exactly what is happening at a molecular level during extremely fast processes, such as burning during combustion? In less than the blink of an eye, one chemical compound and then another are present in a flame ...
Nanophysics
Jun 17, 2025
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1
As instrument commissioning and calibration checks continue for NASA's newly launched PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) mission, its four spacecraft continue to deliver new images—including its first ...
Astronomy
May 13, 2025
0
1
The disappearance of sea ice in polar regions due to global warming not only increases the amount of light entering the ocean, but also changes its color. These changes have far-reaching consequences for photosynthetic organisms ...
Earth Sciences
May 2, 2025
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66
Capturing precise 3D details with a single camera has long been a challenge. Traditional methods often require complex dual-camera setups or specialized lighting conditions that are impractical for real-world applications. ...
One of the Holy Grails in cosmology is a look back at the earliest epochs of cosmic history. Unfortunately, the universe's first few hundred thousand years are shrouded in an impenetrable fog. So far, nobody's been able to ...
Astronomy
Mar 23, 2025
0
38
New research by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) collaboration has produced the clearest images yet of the universe's infancy—the earliest cosmic time yet accessible to humans. Measuring light that traveled for more ...
Astronomy
Mar 18, 2025
38
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