Physics - Browse Physics

41.

Focus

Splitting a Light Beam in Two

Phys. Rev. Focus 18, 14 (2006) – Published November 1, 2006

Light entering certain liquids splits into two divergent beams, according to experiments confirming a prediction made almost 200 years ago.

42.

Focus

Tuning the Sun’s Rays

Phys. Rev. Focus 18, 11 (2006) – Published October 10, 2006

In the hope of improving solar panels, researchers have transformed green sunlight into higher-energy blue.

43.

Focus

Photons Team Up

Phys. Rev. Focus 18, 10 (2006) – Published September 26, 2006

Infrared light boosts electrons during their ejection from a surface. The effect could lead to an ultrafast electron probe.

44.

Focus

Taking Microwaves for a Spin

Phys. Rev. Focus 18, 6 (2006) – Published August 25, 2006

A new design for a microwave laser would make the device compact enough to fit on a computer chip.

45.

Focus

Atoms Feel the Beam

Phys. Rev. Focus 18, 5 (2006) – Published August 18, 2006

A laser beam might be 100 million times wider than an atom, but the atom still ‘knows’ the beam isn’t infinite. The effect could be important for some ultraprecise measurements.

46.

Focus

Seeing through Silver

Phys. Rev. Focus 18, 4 (2006) – Published August 7, 2006

Light can pass with high efficiency through a silver film when sandwiched between transparent layers.

47.

Focus

The Little Chill

Phys. Rev. Focus 18, 2 (2006) – Published July 21, 2006

A new class of materials that cools in response to laser light could one day help microchips and other devices run faster and more reliably.

48.

Focus

Pulsating Pulses

Phys. Rev. Focus 18, 1 (2006) – Published July 10, 2006

Researchers demonstrated a simple technique for controlling very intense light pulses. A related strategy might work for ultracold gases.

49.

Focus

Giving Light a New Twist

Phys. Rev. Focus 17, 15 (2006) – Published April 28, 2006

A new optical device converts photon spin into a more exotic type of angular momentum.

50.

Focus

A 75-kilometer-long Laser

Phys. Rev. Focus 17, 3 (2006) – Published January 26, 2006

With an optical fiber, researchers created the world’s longest laser and used it to transmit signals with hardly any loss of power during their trip.

51.

Focus

Slowing Light with Biology

Phys. Rev. Focus 17, 1 (2006) – Published January 10, 2006

A film of bacterial protein can slow the speed of light to less than a tenth of a millimeter per second.

52.

Focus

Nobel Focus: Photons at the Forefront

Phys. Rev. Focus 16, 13 (2005) – Published October 25, 2005

Three optics researchers who described photons in new ways and made extremely precise measurements of laser light share the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physics.

53.

Focus

Putting the Reins on Light

Phys. Rev. Focus 15, 19 (2005) – Published June 3, 2005

The speed of light moving through a series of metal strips depends on their dimensions rather than on their composition.

54.

Focus

Hold Still

Phys. Rev. Focus 15, 10 (2005) – Published March 22, 2005

A new technique that cancels out Brownian motion improves researchers’ ability to hold and manipulate nanoscale particles.

55.

Focus

Invention of the Maser and Laser

Phys. Rev. Focus 15, 4 (2005) – Published January 27, 2005

Charles Townes’ pair of papers on the first maser in 1954 and 1955 laid the foundation for the laser era.

56.

Focus

A Microscope from Flatland

Phys. Rev. Focus 15, 3 (2005) – Published January 24, 2005

A new technique could dramatically improve the resolution of ordinary light microscopes.

57.

Focus

Tips for Better Fluorescence

Phys. Rev. Focus 14, 19 (2004) – Published November 8, 2004

Imaging of single molecules on cell surfaces might be possible, thanks to two new fluorescence microscopes.

58.

Focus

Holey Fibers Shed New Light

Phys. Rev. Focus 14, 11 (2004) – Published September 20, 2004

Research with a high-tech optical fiber paves the way for a cheap alternative to expensive lasers.

59.

Focus

Needles Capture Whispers of Light

Phys. Rev. Focus 14, 10 (2004) – Published September 3, 2004

Zinc oxide nano-needles form the smallest “whispering galleries” for visible light ever created.

60.

Focus

Photon Marathon

Phys. Rev. Focus 14, 6 (2004) – Published July 30, 2004

Strong, laser-like light emerges from an unconventional source because a few photons do all the work.