Physics - Browse Physics

61.

Focus

Visualize the Vibe

Phys. Rev. Focus 13, 24 (2004) – Published June 4, 2004

A new imaging technique provides nanometer-scale resolution by using light to sense molecular vibrations.

62.

Focus

Twisty Tweezers

Phys. Rev. Focus 13, 22 (2004) – Published May 18, 2004

Researchers measured and controlled the twisting force that a laser beam exerts on small particles.

63.

Focus

Don’t Let Them Know You’re Watching

Phys. Rev. Focus 13, 21 (2004) – Published May 14, 2004

Researchers caught a single particle of light in two places at once.

64.

Focus

Light Wave Outlasts Itself

Phys. Rev. Focus 13, 20 (2004) – Published May 12, 2004

A small piece of a visible light flash can travel faster and farther than the main flash.

65.

Focus

Small Spheres Make a Big Signal

Phys. Rev. Focus 12, 21 (2003) – Published December 1, 2003

A theory proposes that three tiny spheres can concentrate light into a small space and intensify it by a million times.

66.

Focus

The Sharpest Focus

Phys. Rev. Focus 12, 19 (2003) – Published November 24, 2003

Researchers have focused light down to a record-breaking spot size.

67.

Focus

Bullets of Light

Phys. Rev. Focus 12, 7 (2003) – Published September 4, 2003

An intense packet of light that forms in a crystal can maintain its shape as it travels and might be used for future imaging technologies.

68.

Focus

Blurring Clarifies Cell Movements

Phys. Rev. Focus 11, 22 (2003) – Published May 21, 2003

An out-of-focus microscope captures moving ripples on a cell surface.

69.

Focus

T-ray Triumph

Phys. Rev. Focus 11, 10 (2003) – Published March 14, 2003

A synchrotron facility has produced high-power terahertz radiation that may be used for imaging many materials, including living cells.

70.

Focus

Manipulating Nanoparticles

Phys. Rev. Focus 11, 6 (2003) – Published February 11, 2003

Laser light tuned to resonate with the internal energy levels of particles may point the way to size- and shape-selective sorting at the nanoscale.

71.

Focus

Light Given New Direction

Phys. Rev. Focus 10, 22 (2002) – Published November 12, 2002

A slab of a new kind of material can focus diverging electromagnetic waves into a narrow cone.

72.

Focus

Lightly Filtered

Phys. Rev. Focus 10, 12 (2002) – Published September 13, 2002

A regularly spaced array of laser beams deflects particles from their usual course.

73.

Focus

X Rays Stack Up

Phys. Rev. Focus 10, 6 (2002) – Published August 6, 2002

A new x-ray imaging technique has made its first foray into the third dimension.

74.

Focus

Light Beam from Water Droplets

Phys. Rev. Focus 10, 1 (2002) – Published July 5, 2002

The secret to probing clouds from afar may be igniting tiny fires in their water droplets.

75.

Focus

Left-Handed Materials Debate Heats Up

Phys. Rev. Focus 9, 23 (2002) – Published May 3, 2002

Researchers challenge the idea that special materials can bend light the ‘wrong’ way and create the perfect lens.

76.

Focus

Guiding Atoms with a Hologram

Phys. Rev. Focus 9, 10 (2002) – Published February 21, 2002

Holograms make it possible to focus a beam of atoms into complicated patterns on a surface.

77.

Focus

A Clear Signal from Polarized Light

Phys. Rev. Focus 9, 9 (2002) – Published February 13, 2002

A new technique allows polarization of light to be used for encoding signals sent over fiberoptic lines.

78.

Focus

A Finer Cut of Light

Phys. Rev. Focus 9, 8 (2002) – Published February 8, 2002

The world’s most powerful lasers may be able to produce light pulses 100,000 times shorter than today’s shortest.

79.

Focus

Small Laser Beam Blazes Long Path

Phys. Rev. Focus 8, 26 (2001) – Published November 9, 2001

A powerful laser beam guides itself through a block of glass.

80.

Focus

Roundup at the Optical Corral

Phys. Rev. Focus 7, 24 (2001) – Published May 22, 2001

In response to light, most materials produce very short-range electromagnetic fields in addition to ordinary reflections. Theorists show how to calculate these fields, including the ‘optical quantum corral’ generated by a set of nanoscale posts.