Nano-hinge—lubricated by light
Nanomachines could take over a variety of tasks in future. Some day they may be able to perform medical precision work in the human body or help analyze pathogens and pollutants in mobile laboratories....
View ArticleA swimming microrobot is driven by a light-induced peristaltic motion
Ciliates can do amazing things: Being so tiny, the water in which they live is like thick honey to these microorganisms. In spite of this, however, they are able to self-propel through water by the...
View ArticleSuper-powerful light beams and the butterfly effect
Researchers at UPM have revealed the underlying order of chaos by observing very long and intense laser light beams and ionized matter in so-called "light filaments".
View ArticlePhysicists discover large-magnitude elasto-optic effect in ferroelectric...
An international group of physicists discovered a phenomenon of large magnitude in an unexpected class of materials that can lead to a variety of devices used in optical systems.
View ArticleBeating the diffraction limit with nanoantennas
Plasmonic nanoantennas are among the hot topics in science at the moment because of their ability to interact strongly with light, which for example makes them useful for different kinds of sensing....
View ArticleWhere is the closest black hole?
You know that saying, "keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer?" That advice needs to go right out the window when we're talking black holes. They're the worst enemies you could have and...
View ArticleBreakthrough technology to improve cyber security
With enough computing effort most contemporary security systems will be broken. But a research team at the University of Sydney has made a major breakthrough in generating single photons (light...
View ArticleCrumpling approach enhances photodetectors' light responsivity
Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have demonstrated a new approach to modifying the light absorption and stretchability of atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) materials...
View Article'Seeing' around corners: DARPA research into holographic imaging of hidden...
Researchers from SMU's Lyle School of Engineering will lead a multi-university team funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to build a theoretical framework for creating a...
View ArticleBiofeedback system designed to control photosynthetic lighting
Controlled environment agriculture is rapidly becoming an important part of the global food system. For example, there has been much interest in the potential of large-scale, indoor agricultural...
View ArticleLED treatments enhance lettuce phytochemicals, antioxidants
Increasingly, vegetables are being efficiently grown using soilless techniques such as hydroponics. Hydroponic systems are favored for their ability to improve water and nutrient use efficiency and...
View ArticleThe anatomy of flower color
Roses are red, violets are blue. Everybody knows that, but what makes them so? Although plant breeders were aware of some of the genes involved, there was as yet no quantitative study of how pigment...
View ArticleResearchers demonstrate a 100x increase in the amount of information that can...
The rise of big data and advances in information technology has serious implications for our ability to deliver sufficient bandwidth to meet the growing demand.
View ArticleResearchers develop light-powered molecular motors that repetitively bend and...
Scientists at Japan's Hokkaido University have developed light-powered molecular motors that repetitively bend and unbend, bringing us closer to molecular robots.
View ArticlePhysicists propose method for braiding light
(Phys.org)—Physicists have proposed a way to braid three beams of light by guiding the beams along swirling, vortex-shaped defects in the optical medium through which the beams travel. The braided...
View ArticleAlgorithm could enable visible-light-based imaging for medical devices,...
MIT researchers have developed a technique for recovering visual information from light that has scattered because of interactions with the environment—such as passing through human tissue.
View ArticleScientists manipulate surfaces to make them invisible
Most lenses, objectives, eyeglass lenses, and lasers come with an anti-reflective coating. Unfortunately, this coating works optimally only within a narrow wavelength range. Scientists at the Max...
View ArticleVideo: What your mucus says about your health
It's peak cold and flu season, and mucus is making many of our lives miserable. But despite being a little icky, phlegm gets a bad rap. This germ-fighting goo contains cells and chemical compounds that...
View ArticleNew research on Northern Lights will improve satellite navigation accuracy
Researchers at the University of Bath have gained new insights into the mechanisms of the Northern Lights, providing an opportunity to develop better satellite technology that can negate outages caused...
View ArticleA faster single-pixel camera: New technique greatly reduces the number of...
Compressed sensing is an exciting new computational technique for extracting large amounts of information from a signal. In one high-profile demonstration, for instance, researchers at Rice University...
View ArticleFrequent flaring on TRAPPIST-1—unsuited for habitability?
Data from the K2 mission reveals strong stellar magnetism in the TRAPPIST-1 system that hosts three potentially habitable planets, suggesting that those planets could be a less friendly place for life.
View ArticleTeam unveils dual-channel biological function generator
Rice University bioengineers who specialize in creating tools for synthetic biology have unveiled the latest version of their "biofunction generator and "bioscilloscope," an optogenetic platform that...
View ArticleNo green light for latest traffic light app following expert evaluation
FROM sat-nav to automated parking and collision avoidance systems - cars are equipped with an increasing array of electronic aids designed to reduce the scope for human error. One of the latest pieces...
View ArticleInside the tech that makes 'near-miss' air collisions almost impossible
The sky is a crowded place. In June 2017, there were on average 33,000 flights every day over Europe alone.
View ArticleLight to break bandwidth ceiling
The rise of big data and advances in information technology has serious implications for our ability to deliver sufficient bandwidth to meet the growing demand.
View ArticleConnected Lighting Test Bed advancing smart, adaptive lighting
Long gone are the days when light bulbs simply shine in the darkness.
View ArticleHigh-speed communication systems based on ultraviolet radiation
Military and civil authorities could benefit from secure optical communication systems that use light to carry messages between moving vehicles. Researchers at KAUST have now demonstrated rapid data...
View ArticleAdvance in light filtering technology has implications for LCD screens,...
Vector polarizers are a light filtering technology hidden behind the operation of many optical systems. They can be found, for instance, in sunglasses, LCD screens, microscopes, microprocessors, laser...
View Article'Quantum material' has shark-like ability to detect small electrical signals
A "quantum material" that mimics a shark's ability to detect the minute electric fields of small prey has been shown to perform well in ocean-like conditions, with potential applications from defense...
View ArticleBird senses can improve drone navigation
South American oilbirds combine echolocation and extremely sensitive vision to find their way through dark caves. Decoding how they do this could help develop autonomous drones.
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