Optics News

August 12, 2025

Top Headlines

Tiny Gold “Super Atoms” Could Spark a Quantum Revolution

Aug. 11, 2025 — Scientists have found that microscopic gold clusters can act like the world’s most accurate quantum systems, while being far easier to scale up. With tunable spin properties and mass production potential, they could transform quantum computing and ...

Lasers Just Unlocked a Hidden Side of Gold, Copper, and Aluminum

July 19, 2025 — Scientists have cracked a century-old physics mystery by detecting magnetic signals in non-magnetic metals using only light and a revamped laser technique. Previously undetectable, these faint magnetic “whispers” are now measurable, revealing ...

One Tiny Trick Just Broke Light’s Oldest Rule — And Changed Optics Forever

July 14, 2025 — Researchers have cracked a fundamental optical challenge: how to control both angle and wavelength of light independently—a problem that’s limited imaging and display technologies for years. By ...

First-of-its-kind Crystal Laser Could Power Safer Sensors and Smarter Tech

July 12, 2025 — Researchers at the University of Illinois have pulled off a laser first: they built a new kind of eye-safe laser that works at room temperature, using a buried layer of glass-like material instead of the usual air holes. This design not only boosts ...

Lasers Capture the Invisible Dance of Wind and Waves

July 10, 2025 — A laser-equipped research platform has, for the first time, photographed airflow just millimeters above ocean waves, revealing two simultaneous wind–wave energy-transfer tricks—slow short waves steal power from the breeze, while long giants ...

Scientists Capture Real-time Birth of Ultrafast Laser Pulses

July 6, 2025 — Scientists have captured the moment a laser "comes to life"—and what they found challenges long-held beliefs. Using a special technique to film laser light in real time, researchers observed how multiple pulses grow and organize themselves into a ...

Self-lighting Chip Uses Quantum Tunneling to Spot a Trillionth of a Gram

June 27, 2025 — Imagine detecting a single trillionth of a gram of a molecule—like an amino acid—using just electricity and a chip smaller than your fingernail. That’s the power of a new quantum-enabled biosensor developed at EPFL. Ditching bulky lasers, it ...

One Shot, Game Changed: How RAVEN Captured a Petawatt Laser and Supercharged Fusion Research

June 27, 2025 — Scientists have developed a groundbreaking technique called RAVEN that can capture the full complexity of an ultra-intense laser pulse in a single shot—something previously thought nearly ...

Invisible Quantum Waves Forge Shape-shifting Super-materials in Real Time

June 20, 2025 — Scientists have, for the first time, directly observed phonon wave dynamics within self-assembling nanomaterials unlocking the potential for customizable, reconfigurable metamaterials with applications ranging from shock absorbers to advanced ...

This Quantum Sensor Tracks 3D Movement Without GPS

June 14, 2025 — Physicists at the University of Colorado Boulder have created a groundbreaking quantum device that can measure 3D acceleration using ultracold atoms, something once thought nearly impossible. By chilling rubidium atoms to near absolute zero and ...

Atmospheric Chemistry Keeps Pollutants in the Air

June 3, 2025 — A new study details processes that keep pollutants aloft despite a drop in ...

Ultra-thin Lenses That Make Infrared Light Visible

June 2, 2025 — Physicists have developed a lens with 'magic' properties. Ultra-thin, it can transform infrared light into visible light by halving the wavelength of incident ...

Latest Headlines

updated 1:48pm EDT

The Nuclear Clock That Could Finally Unmask Dark Matter

Aug. 9, 2025 — Physicists are exploring thorium-229’s unique properties to create a nuclear clock so precise it could detect the faintest hints of dark matter. Recent measurement advances may allow scientists to ...

Einstein Was Wrong: MIT Just Settled a 100-Year Quantum Debate

Aug. 2, 2025 — Physicists at MIT recreated the double-slit experiment using individual photons and atoms held in laser light, uncovering the true limits of light’s wave–particle duality. Their results proved ...

What Happens When Light Smashes Into Itself? Scientists Just Found out

Aug. 1, 2025 — Physicists have discovered that when beams of light interact at the quantum level, they can generate ghost-like particles that briefly emerge from nothing and affect real matter. This rare ...

Aluminium-20 Shatters Nuclear Norms With Explosive Triple-Proton Breakup

July 22, 2025 — Scientists have observed a brand-new and exotic atomic nucleus: aluminium-20. Unlike anything seen before, it decays through a stunning three-proton emission sequence, shedding light on nuclear ...

Scientists Just Mapped Platinum Atoms — and It Could Transform Catalysis Forever

July 3, 2025 — A precious metal used everywhere from car exhaust systems to fuel cells, platinum is an incredibly efficient catalyst—but it's costly and ...

This Triple-Layer Sunlight Catalyst Supercharges Green Hydrogen by 800%

June 23, 2025 — Researchers in Sweden have developed a powerful new material that dramatically boosts the ability to create hydrogen fuel from water using sunlight, making the process eight times more effective than ...

Photons Collide in the Void: Quantum Simulation Creates Light out of Nothing

June 8, 2025 — Physicists have managed to simulate a strange quantum phenomenon where light appears to arise from empty space a concept that until now has only ...

Self-Powered Artificial Synapse Mimics Human Color Vision

June 2, 2025 — Despite advances in machine vision, processing visual data requires substantial computing resources and energy, limiting deployment in edge devices. Now, researchers from Japan have developed a ...

New Laser Smaller Than a Penny Can Measure Objects at Ultrafast Rates

June 2, 2025 — Researchers have engineered a laser device smaller than a penny that they say could power everything from the LiDAR systems used in self-driving vehicles to gravitational wave detection, one of the ...

Laser Technique Revolutionizes Ultra-High Temperature Ceramic Manufacturing for Space, Defense Applications

May 30, 2025 — Researchers have demonstrated a new technique that uses lasers to create ceramics that can withstand ultra-high temperatures, with applications ...

Listening to Electrons Talk

May 29, 2025 — Researchers present new experimental and theoretical results for the bound electron g-factor in lithium-like tin which has a much higher nuclear charge than any previous measurement. The experimental ...

Thousands of Sensors Reveal 3D Structure of Earthquake-Triggered Sound Waves

May 29, 2025 — Earthquakes create ripple effects in Earth's upper atmosphere that can disrupt satellite communications and navigation systems we rely on. Scientists have now used Japan's extensive network ...

New Chiral Photonic Device Combines Light Manipulation With Memory

May 28, 2025 — Engineers have developed a multifunctional, reconfigurable component for an optical computing system that could be a game changer in ...

Machine Learning Simplifies Industrial Laser Processes

May 27, 2025 — Laser-based metal processing enables the automated and precise production of complex components, whether for the automotive industry or for medicine. However, conventional methods require time- and ...

The Magic of Light: Dozens of Images Hidden in a Single Screen

May 27, 2025 — New technology that uses light's color and spin to display multiple ...

Efficiency Upgrade for OLED Screens: A Route to Blue PHOLED Longevity

May 23, 2025 — Blue phosphorescent OLEDs can now last as long as the green phosphorescent OLEDs already in devices, researchers have demonstrated, paving the way for further improving the energy efficiency of OLED ...

Controlling Quantum Motion and Hyper-Entanglement

May 23, 2025 — A new experiment encodes quantum information in the motion of the atoms and creates a state known as hyper-entanglement, in which two or more traits are linked among a pair of ...

A Rule-Breaking, Colorful Silicone That Could Conduct Electricity

May 22, 2025 — A newly discovered silicone variant is a semiconductor, researchers have discovered -- upending assumptions that the material class is exclusively ...

A Faster, More Reliable Method for Simulating the Plasmas Used to Make Computer Chips

May 22, 2025 — Researchers developed a faster, more stable way to simulate the swirling electric fields inside industrial plasmas -- the kind used to make microchips and coat materials. The improved method could ...

'Green' Ammonia Powered by Sunlight

May 22, 2025 — Ammonia is a chemical essential to many agricultural and industrial processes, but it's mode of production comes with an incredibly high energy cost. Various attempts have, and are, being made ...

Infrared Contact Lenses Allow People to See in the Dark, Even With Their Eyes Closed

May 22, 2025 — Neuroscientists and materials scientists have created contact lenses that enable infrared vision in both humans and mice by converting infrared light into visible light. Unlike infrared night vision ...

A One-Pixel Camera for Recording Holographic Movies

May 21, 2025 — A new camera setup can record three-dimensional movies with a single pixel. Moreover, the technique can obtain images outside the visible spectrum and even through tissues. The development thus opens ...

Major Step for Flat and Adjustable Optics

May 21, 2025 — By carefully placing nanostructures on a flat surface, researchers have significantly improved the performance of so-called optical metasurfaces in conductive plastics. This is a major step for ...

Empowering Robots With Human-Like Perception to Navigate Unwieldy Terrain

May 19, 2025 — Researchers have developed a novel framework named WildFusion that fuses vision, vibration and touch to enable robots to 'sense' and navigate complex outdoor environments much like humans ...

Tiny Microlaser Sensors Offer Supercharged Biosensing

May 19, 2025 — Researchers have developed a 3D micro-printed sensor for highly sensitive on-chip biosensing, opening new opportunities for developing high-performance, cost-effective lab-on-a-chip devices for early ...

UCF's 'Bridge Doctor' Combines Imaging, Neural Network to Efficiently Evaluate Concrete Bridges' Safety

May 16, 2025 — New research details how infrared thermography, high-definition imaging and neural network analysis can combine to make concrete bridge inspections more efficient. Researchers are hopeful that their ...

New Insights Into Quantum Physics

May 15, 2025 — A new study explores how EOS transmits ultrashort laser pulses through crystals that change in response to an applied electric field. This technique allows researchers to accurately capture the shape ...

Researchers Discover a More Eco-Friendly Approach to Study Light and Matter Interaction -- Could Revolutionize Development of Emerging Technologies

May 14, 2025 — Researchers have developed a simple method to explore a complex area of quantum science. The discovery makes research in this field cheaper and more accessible, which could significantly impact the ...

Enzymes from Scratch

May 13, 2025 — Researchers have developed a new workflow for designing enzymes from scratch, paving the way toward more efficient, powerful and environmentally benign chemistry. The new method allows designers to ...

Astrophysicist Searches for Ripples in Space and Time in New Way

May 12, 2025 — Massive ripples in the very fabric of space and time wash over Earth constantly, although you'd never notice. An astrophysicist is trying a new search for these gravitational ...