Physics - Browse Physics

241.

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.

242.

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.

243.

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.

244.

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.

245.

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.

246.

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.

247.

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.

248.

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.

249.

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.

250.

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.

251.

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.

252.

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.

253.

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.

254.

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.

255.

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.

256.

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.

257.

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.

258.

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.

259.

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.

260.

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.