In many respects, metamaterials are supernatural. These manmade materials, with their intricately designed structures, bend electromagnetic waves in ways that are impossible for materials found in nature. Scientists are investigating ...
Condensed Matter
Nov 14, 2012
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Drawing heavily upon nature for inspiration, a team of researchers has created a new artificial lens that is nearly identical to the natural lens of the human eye. This innovative lens, which is made up of thousands of nanoscale ...
Optics & Photonics
Nov 13, 2012
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(Phys.org)—Gold, silk and graphite may not be the first materials that come to mind when you think of cutting-edge technology. Put them together, though, and you've got the basic components of a new ultra-thin, flexible ...
Engineering
Nov 2, 2012
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(Phys.org)—Using gravitational "lenses" in space, University of Utah astronomers discovered that the centers of the biggest galaxies are growing denser – evidence of repeated collisions and mergers by massive galaxies ...
Astronomy
Oct 12, 2012
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The first Fresnel lens was installed in 1823 in the Cordouan lighthouse, where its beam was visible for 32 km. Since then, this lens design has been used in lighthouses, traffic lights, automobile headlights, magnifying glasses, ...
Optics & Photonics
Oct 5, 2012
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Scientists discover that certain materials like silicon or gold exhibit a surprisingly large refractive index for extremely high energetic gamma-rays.
Condensed Matter
May 14, 2012
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(PhysOrg.com) -- When an optical fiber is bent by 90° or more, the light begins to leak away, posing a problem for fiber optics communications. But by using special lenses that can bend light by not only 90°, but ...
Inspired from Mother Nature: The body of the brittlestar Ophiocoma wendtii is studded with tiny crystalline lenses made of calcium carbonate. Microlenses like these are of great interest technologically, yet they have always ...
Condensed Matter
Mar 26, 2012
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A superlens would let you see a virus in a drop of blood and open the door to better and cheaper electronics. It might, says Durdu Guney, make ultra-high-resolution microscopes as commonplace as cameras in our cell phones.
Optics & Photonics
Jan 9, 2012
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(PhysOrg.com) -- “Most current hard x-ray interferometers are based on crystals, which require their high quality and high mechanical stability,” Anatoly Snigirev tells PhysOrg.com. “This can make x-ray interferometry ...
