We care about your data, and we'd like to use cookies to give you a smooth browsing experience. Please agree and read more about our privacy policy.
Quanta Homepage
  • Physics
  • Mathematics
  • Biology
  • Computer Science
  • Topics
  • Archive

What's up in

optics

Latest Articles

An illustration of calipers that look blurry
quantum physics

Physicists Pin Down How Quantum Uncertainty Sharpens Measurements

By Ben Brubaker
May 3, 2022
Comment
Read Later

Throwing out data seems to make measurements of distances and angles more precise. The reason why has been traced to Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle.

Simulated microscopy image of light shining through mitochondrial bundles and emerging as tight beams.
biophysics

Mitochondria Double as Tiny Lenses in the Eye

By Yasemin Saplakoglu
April 5, 2022
Comment
Read Later

The optical properties of mitochondrial bundles in the retina may improve how efficiently the eye captures light.

Illustration of gold unicorn
optics

Alchemy Arrives in a Burst of Light

By Philip Ball
September 30, 2020
Comment
Read Later

Researchers have shown how to effectively transform one material into another using a finely shaped laser pulse.

Photo of a sign reading “To Telescope” near Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.
Quantized Columns

Social Distancing From the Stars

By Emily Levesque
August 11, 2020
Comment
Read Later

Professional astronomers may not point their telescopes by hand anymore, but COVID-19 has still closed observatories and impeded research.

Image of LIGO’s mirror.
Abstractions blog

To Make the Perfect Mirror, Physicists Confront the Mystery of Glass

By Natalie Wolchover
April 2, 2020
Comment
Read Later

Sometimes a mirror that reflects 99.9999% of light isn’t good enough.

Insights puzzle

How to Design a Perpetual Energy Machine

By Pradeep Mutalik
April 1, 2020
Comment
Read Later

This April, find the fatal flaws in two paradoxical claims — one about a perpetual source of energy and the other about whether you will ever see the solution to these puzzles.

Q&A

The Astronomer Who’d Rather Build Space Cameras

By Ann Finkbeiner
April 18, 2019
Comment
Read Later

Jim Gunn shaped the theory of the evolution of the cosmos before building cameras and spectrographs for major observatories like the Hubble Space Telescope.

Art for "Laser Physicists, Including Third Woman Ever, Win Physics Nobel"
Abstractions blog

Laser Physicists, Including Third Woman Ever, Win Physics Nobel

By Michael Moyer +1 authors
Natalie Wolchover
October 2, 2018
Comment
Read Later

Three researchers shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for advances in laser physics. The winners include a woman for the first time in 55 years.

Illustration of a bunny hiding around a corner
algorithms

The New Science of Seeing Around Corners

By Natalie Wolchover
August 30, 2018
Comment
Read Later

Computer vision researchers have uncovered a world of visual signals hiding in our midst, including subtle motions that betray what’s being said and faint images of what’s around a corner.


Previous
  • 1
  • 2
Next
Follow Quanta
Facebook
Facebook

Twitter
Twitter

Youtube
YouTube

Instagram
Instagram

RSS
RSS

Newsletter

Past Month

Most Read Articles

This Data is Current Loading...
This Data is Current Loading...
This Data is Current Loading...
The Quanta Newsletter

Get highlights of the most important news delivered to your email inbox

Recent newsletters
Quanta Homepage
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube
Instagram

  • About Quanta
  • Archive
  • Contact Us
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Simons Foundation
All Rights Reserved © 2023