Browse Physics

Simulations suggest that a set of cells in the eye can act like optical fibers to guide light through obscuring layers to the cells that detect light.

A network of light-guiding filaments could form a new and more flexible type of synthetic material for controlling light waves in advanced devices, according to simulations.

Researchers propose a noninvasive, nondestructive way to image structures inside cells and other small samples using visible light.

A “statistical” theory shows how a photonic structure could insulate a warm object more effectively than the pure vacuum of a thermos.

Researchers detected the recoil motion of a bead when fluorescent molecules on its surface began emitting photons.

A feeble light beam reverses the magnetism of small regions of a magnetic semiconductor, raising new possibilities for using light in magnetic data storage.

Calculations reveal that a dense cloud of cold atoms pumped with lasers can glow with its own laser light. Such ‘random lasers’ have previously been made only from solid and liquid materials.

A research team used a laser to produce large amounts of anti-electrons, opening up new possibilities for research on exotic astrophysical objects.

An experiment showing that an optical fiber recoils as light exits it addresses a century-old controversy over the momentum of light in transparent materials.

A new technique allows fluorescent particles to be precisely placed in photonic structures–the ‘circuit boards’ for future devices that would process signals using light.

Researchers have shaped the time profile of a single photon. The work may benefit quantum information processing in fields such as quantum cryptography.

Two research groups show how to detect sound waves that have wavelengths as short as the spacing between atoms in a solid and frequencies in the terahertz range.

Ghost imaging, in which images are made using light that never came near the object, has now been demonstrated with reflected light, but the debate continues over whether the effect can be explained with classical physics.

Researchers have extracted electrons from atoms in a controlled way using sub-femtosecond light pulses. They also imaged the electrons’ quantum states with unprecedented clarity.

A multi-laser technique could help chip manufacturers get past the diffraction limit, to make tinier circuits without using high intensity light, according to new calculations.

New calculations show that a material with the right electrical properties could dramatically improve the efficiency of light-like waves that travel on metal surfaces. Devices based on these waves might someday process light signals on a chip.

A light beam appears to bend and propagate without spreading.

Ultrafast movies reveal new details of the explosion that occurs when a femtosecond laser pulse blasts a solid surface–a technique that is used in nano-engineering.

A group of photons could be forced to repel one another so strongly that each becomes locked in its place within an array of photon-storing cavities, according to a new theory.

A new technique can detect when electromagnetic waves moving through dense materials exhibit extreme changes in their behavior. It could help with surveying of geological structures or possibly scanning human bodies.