Optical techniques are experimental and analytical methods that exploit the generation, manipulation, and detection of electromagnetic radiation in the ultraviolet, visible, and infrared ranges to probe material properties, structures, and dynamics. They encompass approaches such as absorption, fluorescence, Raman and elastic scattering measurements, interferometry, and imaging modalities that rely on well-defined light–matter interactions. These techniques enable quantitative characterization of refractive indices, absorption coefficients, energy level structures, molecular conformations, and nanoscale morphology, often with high spatial and temporal resolution. Optical techniques are widely integrated with spectroscopy, microscopy, and metrology platforms and can be implemented in both far-field and near-field configurations.
In 2008, a team of UCLA-led scientists proposed a scheme to use a laser to excite the nucleus of thorium atoms to realize extremely accurate, portable clocks. Last year, they realized this longstanding goal by bombarding ...
General Physics
Dec 10, 2025
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44
Conventional telescopes are limited in detecting low-surface-brightness (LSB) structures, which are essential for studying galaxy evolution. Now, researchers have developed a new telescope system featuring a confocal off-axis ...
Astronomy
Dec 9, 2025
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54
Researchers from the Physical Chemistry and Theory departments at the Fritz Haber Institute have found a new way to image layers of boron nitride that are only a single atom thick. This material is usually nearly invisible ...
Nanophysics
Dec 8, 2025
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58
A research team at VTT MIKES has set a new record in optical-clock absolute frequency measurements using a strontium single-ion clock with exceptionally low uncertainty and high uptime.
General Physics
Dec 2, 2025
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54
Researchers at the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University, have developed a method for quantitative imaging of ATP levels inside living cells. The study, published in Nature Communications, introduces ...
Cell & Microbiology
Dec 2, 2025
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18
Optical lattice clocks are devices that measure the passing of time via the frequency of light that is absorbed or emitted by laser-cooled atoms trapped in a repeating pattern of light interference known as optical lattice.
Food quality and safety are crucial. However, conventional food-monitoring methods, including ribotyping and polymerase chain reaction, tend to be destructive and lengthy. These shortcomings limit their potential for broad ...
Nanomaterials
Nov 26, 2025
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42
A German-French team of physicists from TU Dortmund University, University of Würzburg, and Le Mans Université has succeeded in launching shear hypersound pulses with exceptionally large amplitudes in metal halide perovskites ...
Condensed Matter
Nov 21, 2025
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47
Researchers from McMaster University and the University of Pittsburgh have created the first functionally complete logic gate—a NAND gate (short for "NOT AND")—in a soft material using only beams of visible light. The discovery, ...
Optics & Photonics
Nov 20, 2025
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67
A slender glass fiber no thicker than a human hair placed across a particle beam could improve accelerator monitoring. A team is testing the use of hollow-core optical fibers to measure the profile and position of the beams ...
General Physics
Nov 18, 2025
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44
