NASA's OPALS to beam data from space via laser

(Phys.org) —NASA will use the International Space Station to test a new communications technology that could dramatically improve spacecraft communications, enhance commercial missions and strengthen transmission of scientific ...

Smoke on the water -- and in the microphone?

(AP) -- What do you get if you combine a smoke machine, some tubing, a laser pointer, a fan and a piece of toilet paper? Answer: a microphone unlike any other.

Twistoptics—A new way to control optical nonlinearity

Nonlinear optics, a study of how light interacts with matter, is critical to many photonic applications, from the green laser pointers we're all familiar with to intense broadband (white) light sources for quantum photonics ...

Countering contamination for Mars spacesuits

To search for life on Mars, future astronauts would naturally want to step outside their living habitat for a walk. But the spacesuits keeping them alive might also carry Earth microbes or ingredients of life that could contaminate ...

Researchers use infrared light to detect molecules

Ordinary solid-state lasers, as used in laser pointers, generate light in the visible range. For many applications, however, such as the detection of molecules, radiation in the mid-infrared range is needed. Such infrared ...

Innovation doesn't always carry a big brand name

The giants of the electronics industry make the big splash at the Consumer Electronics Show, as usual, with towering displays, celebrity spokespeople (Taylor Swift sang for Sony, live and in 3-D) and invitation-only soirees.

Transforming living cells into tiny lasers

In the last few decades, lasers have become an important part of our lives, with applications ranging from laser pointers and CD players to medical and research uses. Lasers typically have a very well-defined direction of ...

Painting at the Speed of Light

(PhysOrg.com) -- The Student Optics Chapter has built a laser graffiti system intended to spark public interest in optical sciences.

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