Extending our reach into the cosmos with new mirror coatings

Since the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO)'s groundbreaking detection, in 2015, of gravitational waves produced by a pair of colliding black holes, the observatory, together with its European partner ...

Parabolic mirrors concentrate sunlight to power lasers

Legend tells of Greek engineer and inventor Archimedes using parabolic mirrors to create "heat rays" to burn the ships attacking Syracuse. Though the underpinnings of that claim are speculative at best, a modern-day team ...

A marvelous molecular machine

Squids, octopuses and cuttlefish are undisputed masters of deception and camouflage. Their extraordinary ability to change color, texture and shape is unrivaled, even by modern technology.

How graphene and friends could harness the Sun's energy

(Phys.org) —Combining wonder material graphene with other stunning one-atom thick materials could create the next generation of solar cells and optoelectronic devices, scientists have revealed.

Sparkly Spiders and Photonic Fish

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists in Israel and the UK have uncovered the details of how certain fish and spiders create their iridescent scales and silvery skins.

Team makes breakthrough in solar energy research

The use of plasmonic black metals could someday provide a pathway to more efficient photovoltaics (PV) —- the use of solar panels containing photovoltaic solar cells —- to improve solar energy harvesting, according to ...

Low-reflection wings make butterflies nearly invisible

The effect is known from the smart phone: Sun is reflected by the display and hardly anything can be seen. In contrast to this, the glasswing butterfly hardly reflects any light in spite of its transparent wings. As a result, ...

Researchers explore new chapter of physics

Interactions between light and matter are a fundamental unit of modern physics, but recently researchers have started to look beyond the standard textbook interactions.

page 1 from 2