Single-atom tractor beams power chemical catalysis

By trapping light into tiny gaps only a few atoms wide, a team from the NanoPhotonics Center at the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge has magnified optical forces a thousand-fold, strong enough to force ...

Halting a wave in its tracks

Topological ideas have recently taken the center stage of modern electromagnetics. Typical topological photonic systems are based on nonreciprocal materials, a class of materials that enables asymmetric light–matter interactions. ...

A new method for exploring the nano-world

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL) and Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin (MPZPM) in Erlangen present a large step forward in the characterization of nanoparticles. They used a special ...

Harnessing the powers of light to operate computers

It is said that light is the source of life, and in the near future, it will possibly form the basis of our everyday personal computing needs too. Recently, researchers from the University of Tsukuba have harnessed specific ...

Microdrones with light-driven nanomotors

A hand-held laser pointer produces no noticeable recoil forces when it is "fired"—even though it emits a directed stream of light particles. The reason for this is its very large mass compared to the very small recoil impulses ...

The sound of light: Photoacoustics for biomedical applications

Medical imaging techniques provide a unique view inside the body and are invaluable for diagnosis and disease monitoring. From X-ray, over MRI to ultrasound, the field is vast and diverse. When imaging biological tissue, ...

An optical chip improved by light

Technology is increasingly moving towards miniaturization and energy efficiency. This also applies to electronic chips. Light, and optics more broadly, are functional in making compact and portable chips. Researchers from ...

Creating invisibility with superconducting materials

Invisibility devices may soon no longer be the stuff of science fiction. A new study published in the De Gruyter journal Nanophotonics by lead authors Huanyang Chen at Xiamen University, China, and Qiaoliang Bao, suggests ...

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