Optics & lasers as a research area encompasses the fundamental and applied study of the generation, propagation, manipulation, and detection of light, with a particular emphasis on coherent and monochromatic radiation from lasers. It includes laser physics (gain media, optical cavities, nonlinear and quantum optical effects), beam shaping and guiding (waveguides, fibers, integrated photonics), optical materials and devices (mirrors, modulators, detectors), and advanced techniques such as ultrafast optics, high-power and high-intensity laser systems, laser spectroscopy, and laser-based metrology. This field underpins technologies in precision measurement, optical communication, imaging, microfabrication, and control of matter with light.
Light undergoes a unique phenomenon called superscattering, an optical illusion where a very small object scatters far more light than expected. This happens when multiple scattering modes overlap and interact, allowing tiny ...
When two black holes merge or two neutron stars collide, gravitational waves can be generated. They spread at the speed of light and cause tiny distortions in space-time. Albert Einstein predicted their existence, and the ...
General Physics
Dec 16, 2025
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An international team of researchers led by Lancaster University has discovered a highly efficient mechanism for shaking magnets using very short light pulses, shorter than a trillionth of a second. Their research is published ...
Condensed Matter
Dec 16, 2025
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Stanford engineers debuted a new framework introducing computational tools and self-reflective AI assistants, potentially advancing fields like optical computing and astronomy.
Optics & Photonics
Dec 15, 2025
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Liquids and solutions are complex environments—think, for example, of sugar dissolving in water, where each sugar molecule becomes surrounded by a restless crowd of water molecules. Inside living cells, the picture is even ...
Optics & Photonics
Dec 14, 2025
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The convergence of non-Hermitian physics and topological photonics has opened exciting research directions in recent years, particularly in the development of robust laser systems.
Optics & Photonics
Dec 13, 2025
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Femtosecond laser-induced periodic surface structures can be used to control thermal conductivity in thin film solids, report researchers from Japan. Their innovative method, which leverages high-speed laser ablation, produces ...
Nanophysics
Dec 12, 2025
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Researchers have made a major advance in quantum computing with a new device that is nearly 100 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair.
Optics & Photonics
Dec 11, 2025
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University of Iowa researchers have discovered a method to "purify" photons, an advance that could make optical quantum technologies more efficient and more secure.
Quantum Physics
Dec 10, 2025
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Integrated circuits are the brains behind modern electronic devices like computers or smart phones. Traditionally, these circuits—also known as chips—rely on electricity to process data. In recent years, scientists have ...
Optics & Photonics
Dec 8, 2025
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