The soft-bodied gadget changes its shape to facilitate wind-assisted dispersal upon illumination with visible light.
Envisioned as a potential method for manufacturing since the 1940s, 3D printing saw technological success only several decades later.
Researchers use ultra-short laser pulses to efficiently channel light nearly 50 meters through the air.
OPN talks with Gregory Quarles, the CEO of the laser firm Applied Energetics, about the hazard of aerial attacks from unauthorized drones—and how photonics could help address it.
Neutral-atom quantum computer startup will use financing to accelerate R&D and fund global expansion.
Multiple reflections inside a Herriott cell, a cavity made of two concave mirrors with an aperture in one of them.
Technique reveals elements’ concentrations and distributions without time-consuming scans.
People with some color-related genetic vision problems now have more options for getting through everyday life.
Introducing a lesser-known work of the great 19th-century scientist—a poem about a blood-sucking monster.
The myths of the “creative genius” and the “Eureka moment” in science.
A volcano track or plume rises over Mount Michael, an active stratovolcano on Saunders Island, about 1600 km from Antarctica.
Companies are increasingly being set up to commercialize optical processors—a technology with huge potential benefits, as well as some sticking points.
Imaging scientists at the US National Gallery of Art are building an optical toolkit for investigating masterpieces ancient and modern.
A lecturer talks about her experience with the Optica Ambassador program.
A research professor talks about building optical instruments.
A researcher talks about the value of networking and how to make the most of it.
A senior researcher talks about the importance of thinking critically about what you love to do.
An R&D manager talks about strengthening her leadership skills.