How traffic signals favour cars and discourage walking
Traffic signals give priority to motor vehicles over pedestrians. This inequality undermines many of the stated goals of transport, health and environment policy.
Jun 11, 2018
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New laser makes silicon 'sing'
Yale scientists have created a new type of silicon laser that uses sounds waves to amplify light. A study about the discovery appears June 8 in the online edition of the journal Science.
Physicists catch light in the eye of the storm
Similar to the eye of a hurricane, physicists of research institute AMOLF, the University of Amsterdam and the University of Texas at Austin, have captured light in the eye of an optical vortex. The research will be published ...
Metal-free metamaterial can be swiftly tuned to create changing electromagnetic effects
Researchers at Duke University have built the first metal-free, dynamically tunable metamaterial for controlling electromagnetic waves. The approach could form the basis for technologies ranging from improved security scanners ...
Signals from a spectacular neutron star merger that made gravitational waves are slowly fading away
Eight months ago, the detection of gravitational waves from a binary neutron star merger had us and other astronomers around the world rushing to observe one of the most energetic events in the universe.
Mini toolkit for measurements: New NIST chip hints at quantum sensors of the future
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have created a chip on which laser light interacts with a tiny cloud of atoms to serve as a miniature toolkit for measuring important quantities such ...
Scientists directly observe electron dynamics of the Northern Lights
The shower of electrons bouncing across Earth's magnetosphere, commonly known as the Northern Lights, has been directly observed for the first time by an international team of scientists. While the cause of these colorful ...
Researchers use sound waves to advance optical communication
Illinois researchers have demonstrated that sound waves can be used to produce ultraminiature optical diodes that are tiny enough to fit onto a computer chip. These devices, called optical isolators, may help solve major ...
Looking at the universe through very different 'eyes'
We are bathed in starlight. During the day we see the Sun, light reflected off the surface of the Earth and blue sunlight scattered by the air. At night we see the stars, as well as sunlight reflected off the Moon and the ...
Accelerating light beams in curved space
By shining a laser along the inside shell of an incandescent light bulb, physicists have performed the first experimental demonstration of an accelerating light beam in curved space. Rather than moving along a geodesic trajectory ...
