Beam steering angle expander with two liquid crystal polymeric diffractive optical elements
Scientists have developed a high-efficiency beam steering angle expander consisting of two liquid crystal polymeric diffractive optical elements. For a LiDAR (light detection and ranging) operating at 905 nm, the steering angle can be expanded by 5.4.....»»
NASA can talk to its spacecraft using lasers now
NASA's Deep Space Optical Communications test has completed its first phase, showing that laser communications in space are possible and faster than radio......»»
How London’s Crystal Palace was built so quickly
New study finds it was the earliest-known building to use a standard screw thread. London's Great Exhibition of 1851 attracted some 6 million people eager to experience more than.....»»
Fused molecules could serve as building blocks for safer lithium-ion batteries
By fusing together a pair of contorted molecular structures, Cornell researchers have created a porous crystal that can uptake lithium-ion electrolytes and transport them smoothly via one-dimensional nanochannels—a design that could lead to safer s.....»»
NASA"s laser comms demo makes deep space record, completes first phase
The Deep Space Optical Communications tech demo has completed several key milestones, culminating in sending a signal to Mars' farthest distance from Earth......»»
Engineers create a chip-based tractor beam for biological particles
MIT researchers have developed a miniature, chip-based "tractor beam," like the one that captures the Millennium Falcon in the film "Star Wars," that could someday help biologists and clinicians study DNA, classify cells, and investigate the mechanis.....»»
Logic with light: Introducing diffraction casting, optical-based parallel computing
Increasingly complex applications such as artificial intelligence require ever more powerful and power-hungry computers to run. Optical computing is a proposed solution to increase speed and power efficiency but has yet to be realized due to constrai.....»»
GM CEO Mary Barra back at No. 1 of Most Powerful Women in Business
Fortune recognized Mary Barra for steering General Motors through last year's UAW contract talks and strike while also improving the automaker's profitability and stock price......»»
Chemist challenges traditional views on crystal growth
Remember that old high school chemistry experiment where salt crystals precipitate out of a saltwater solution—or maybe the one where rock candy crystals form from sugar water? It turns out that your understanding of how crystals formed in those so.....»»
Quantum research paves the way toward efficient, ultra-high-density optical memory storage
As our digital world generates massive amounts of data—more than 2 quintillion bytes of new content each day—yesterday's storage technologies are quickly reaching their limits. Optical memory devices, which use light to read and write data, offer.....»»
Developing novel chiral capsule tools for advanced optical technologies
Chirality is an essential property in biology; the molecular building blocks of some of the most important biological structures, including DNA and proteins, are chiral. When a molecule is said to be chiral, it means that it is distinguishable from i.....»»
Headband-like device uses speckle contrast optical spectroscopy to predict stroke risk
A team of researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC and California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have developed a potential new way to measure a person's stroke risk that is cost-effective and noninvasive, akin to a cardiac stress test......»»
Observations explore the nature of transitional millisecond pulsar PSR J1023+0038
Using the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC), astronomers from Italy and Spain have carried out high-temporal-resolution optical spectroscopic observations of a transitional millisecond pulsar designated PSR J1023+0038. Results of the observational campa.....»»
Nonlinear optical metasurface achieves electrically tunable third-harmonic generation
A recent study has unveiled a transformative nonlinear optical metasurface technology. This new technology, characterized by structures smaller than the wavelength of light, paves the way for significant advancements in next-generation communication.....»»
Hubble finds that a black hole beam promotes stellar eruptions
In a surprise finding, astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have discovered that the blowtorch-like jet from a supermassive black hole at the core of a huge galaxy seems to cause stars to erupt along its trajectory. The stars, called.....»»
Scientists develop method to control timing of synthetic DNA droplet division
Many cellular functions in the human body are controlled by biological droplets called liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) droplets. These droplets, made of soft biological materials, exist inside living cells but are not enclosed by membranes like.....»»
How a nearby supernova left its mark on Earth life
When a massive star explodes as a supernova, it does more than release an extraordinary amount of energy. Supernovae explosions are responsible for creating some of the heavy elements, including iron, which is blasted out into space by the explosion......»»
5 TV shows you need to watch in October 2024
With stars Billy Crystal, Joshua Jackson, and Harrison Ford, these five TV shows demand to be seen and binged throughout the month of October and beyond......»»
Light momentum turns pure silicon from an indirect to a direct bandgap semiconductor
UC Irvine-led research reveals that the optical properties of materials can be dramatically enhanced—not by changing the materials themselves, but by giving the light new properties......»»
Observers detect intraday variability of blazar 1ES 1426+42.8
Astronomers report the detection of optical intraday variability of a blazar known as 1ES 1426+42.8. The new findings, presented in a paper published in the September issue of Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, could shed more light o.....»»
Human genome stored on "everlasting" memory crystal
University of Southampton scientists have stored the full human genome on a 5D memory crystal—a revolutionary data storage format that can survive for billions of years......»»