Optical methods are experimental and analytical techniques that exploit the interaction of electromagnetic radiation in the ultraviolet, visible, or infrared ranges with matter to probe, manipulate, or measure physical, chemical, or biological systems. They encompass approaches such as absorption, fluorescence, and Raman spectroscopy, interferometry, optical microscopy, and optical coherence tomography, relying on phenomena including reflection, refraction, diffraction, scattering, and emission. These methods provide high spatial and temporal resolution, enable non-contact and often non-destructive measurements, and are widely used for quantitative imaging, material characterization, environmental sensing, and in situ monitoring of dynamic processes in both fundamental research and applied technologies.
Determining how strong your drink is doesn't need to be either guesswork or lab work. New research has made it as simple as checking your messages—and more colorful, too. The study is published in the journal Small Science.
Bio & Medicine
May 20, 2025
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47
Researchers at Rice University have developed a new machine learning (ML) algorithm that excels at interpreting the "light signatures" (optical spectra) of molecules, materials and disease biomarkers, potentially enabling ...
Optics & Photonics
Apr 28, 2025
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76
In a significant advancement, researchers from the Nanoscience Center (NSC) at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, have unveiled an innovative, label-free ratiometric fluorosensor designed for the selective and sensitive ...
Bio & Medicine
Apr 4, 2025
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67
NPL and MSL in New Zealand successfully detected a multitude of earthquakes in the Pacific Ocean using a pioneering detection technique.
Earth Sciences
Mar 20, 2025
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35
More accurate maps based on data from the SWOT mission can improve underwater navigation and result in greater knowledge of how heat and life move around the world's oceans.
Planetary Sciences
Mar 20, 2025
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82
Oxygen is essential for life and a reactive player in many chemical processes. Accordingly, methods that accurately measure oxygen are relevant for numerous industrial and medical applications: They analyze exhaust gases ...
Nanomaterials
Mar 11, 2025
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128
Researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) have unveiled a planar optical device that significantly enhances the capabilities of dark-field microscopy, achieving super-resolution imaging beyond ...
Optics & Photonics
Mar 10, 2025
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290
Quantitative phase imaging (QPI) is a microscopy technique widely used to investigate cells. Even though earlier biomedical applications based on QPI have been developed, both acquisition speed and image quality need to improve ...
Optics & Photonics
Mar 3, 2025
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31
EMBL tech developers have made an important leap forward with a novel methodology that adds an important microscopy capability to life scientists' toolbox. The advance represents a 1,000-fold improvement in speed and throughput ...
Optics & Photonics
Feb 20, 2025
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80
Physicists from the group of Jorik van de Groep at the UvA-Institute of Physics have devised a new method that can be used to detect edges of images in an extremely energy efficient and ultrafast way. The results were recently ...
Optics & Photonics
Jan 23, 2025
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