Pushing microscopy beyond standard limits

Engineers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have devised a method to convert a relatively inexpensive conventional microscope into a billion-pixel imaging system that significantly outperforms the best available ...

New phenomenon could lead to novel types of lasers and sensors

There are several ways to "trap" a beam of light—usually with mirrors, other reflective surfaces, or high-tech materials such as photonic crystals. But now researchers at MIT have discovered a new method to trap light that ...

Sun's loops are displaying an optical illusion

(Phys.org) —The Sun's outer atmosphere, or corona, has posed an enduring mystery. Why is it so hot? The Sun's visible surface is only 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit, but as you move outward the temperature shoots up to millions ...

Researchers develop light transistor

TU Vienna has managed to turn the oscillation direction of beams of light – simply by applying an electrical current to a special material. This way, a transistor can be built that functions with light instead of electrical ...

MIT researchers build an all-optical transistor

Optical computing—using light rather than electricity to perform calculations—could pay dividends for both conventional computers and quantum computers, largely hypothetical devices that could perform some types of computations ...

Simple wavelength detector could speed data communications

(Phys.org) —Researchers at SLAC and Stanford have created a new device, smaller than a grain of rice, that could streamline optical data communications. It can directly identify the wavelength of light that hits it, and ...

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