Browse Physics

Single photon emission is normally only observed in systems, such as atoms, that are quantum confined in all directions. Now, scientists have shown that carbon nanotubes, which are quasi-one-dimensional materials, can also act as single photon emitters.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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