Researchers have developed a simple spatial light modulator made from gold electrodes covered by a thin film of electro-optical material that changes its optical properties in response to electric signals. Now, researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, in collaboration with a team from Washington University, have developed a…

Researchers have developed a new way to build power efficient and programmable integrated switching units on a silicon photonics chip. The new technology is poised to reduce production costs by allowing a generic optical circuit to be fabricated in bulk and then later programmed for specific applications such as communications systems, LIDAR circuits or computing…

In the new study, researchers analyzed the composition of solar energetic particles heading towards Earth, and found they had the same ‘fingerprint’ as plasma located low in the Sun’s corona, close to the middle region of the Sun’s atmosphere, the chromosphere. These particles are highly charged and, if they reach Earth’s atmosphere, can potentially disrupt…

Physics researchers discover a new physical effect relating to the interactions between light and twisted materials — an effect that is likely to have implications for emerging new nanotechnologies in communications, nanorobotics and ultra-thin optical components. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Italian master craftsman Antonio Stradivari produced musical instruments of legendary quality, and…

By demonstrating exceptional control of an open optical system, an international research team has provided a path to experimentally measure and test exotic phenomena and gain insights into new physics with exquisite sensitivity. Reported in Nature Communications, the Penn State, Michigan Technological University and Vienna University of Technology researchers created a stable surface of ‘exceptional’…

When an LNO catalyst with a nickel-rich surface carries out a water-splitting reaction, its surface atoms rearrange from a cubic to a hexagonal pattern and its efficiency doubles. Deliberately engineering the surface to take advantage of this phenomenon offers a way to design better catalysts. But that’s ok, they reported today, because understanding and controlling…

To combat supply chain counterfeiting, which can cost companies billions of dollars annually, researchers have invented a cryptographic ID tag that’s small enough to fit on virtually any product and verify its authenticity. A 2018 report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development estimates about $2 trillion worth of counterfeit goods will be sold…

In late May and early June, Earthlings may be able to glimpse Comet SWAN. The comet is currently faintly visible to the unaided eye in the Southern Hemisphere just before sunrise. The new comet was first spotted in April 2020, by an amateur astronomer named Michael Mattiazzo using data from the SOHO satellite. The new…

Profile of path-setting method to simulate the crazy-quilt movement of free electrons during experimental efforts to harness on Earth the fusion power that drives the sun and stars. The method cracks a complex equation that can enable improved control of the random and fast-moving moving electrons in the fuel for fusion energy. Fusion produces enormous…

Researchers have developed an inexpensive, non-toxic coating for almost any fabric that decreases the infectivity of the virus that causes COVID-19 by up to 90 per cent. And in the future, you might be able to spray it on fabric yourself. And in the future, you might be able to spray it on fabric yourself.…