Windows let light, warmth and a view into rooms, but we don’t always want all three of those at once. That’s why researchers in Switzerland are developing a relatively simple method to smarten up windows by embedding tiny mini-mirrors in them and keep rooms comfortable all year round.
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Most solar cells only capture the visible light. Now, researchers at Berkeley Labs have developed a way to use nanoparticles coated in special organic dyes to convert near-infrared light into visible light, which could allow solar cells to harvest more of the spectrum.
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Described as the world’s largest and most advanced superconducting camera, a new instrument dubbed DARKNESS is designed to filter out the blinding light of stars to see orbiting exoplanets in more detail than ever before.
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Autonomous vehicles are getting better at sensing their surroundings, but even they still need to be able to directly see a hazard to react to it. Now, a Stanford team is developing a laser-based system that may allow driverless cars to see around blind corners.
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Researchers have made an incredible advance in the field of real-time projection mapping, creating a new system that can simulate the way light reflects off a nonexistent 3D structure. The result is stunningly realistic dynamic projection that heralds a new generation of trippy performance art.
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Photons, the elementary particles that make up light, are fast, weightless and don't interact with each other. But in new experiments, physicists have now created a new form of light, demonstrating that groups of photons can be made to interact with each other, slow down and gain mass.
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Wearable safety lamps that take a more rounded approach in order to spread more light is something we've seen a bit of lately, but the OliLight takes things a little further by doubling as a personal rescue beacon should you get into trouble in the wilderness.
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Last year astronomers around the world witnessed the merger of two neutron stars as gravitational waves, light, radio and gamma rays, but the aftermath of the mashup hasn’t played out quite as expected. Rather than fade over time, the afterglow has continued to brighten.
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The 2D wonder material, graphene, has a long list of superpowers, but one thing it hasn’t been great at is absorbing light. Now, a study from the University of Central Florida (UCF) has found a way to boost graphene’s light absorption, allowing it to make better use of that energy.
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If you're thinking that it seems a little less dark at night … well, you might not be imagining things. According to a new study led by Dr. Christopher Kyba of the German Research Center for Geoscience, Earth's artificially lit outdoor areas grew by 2.2 percent per year from 2012 to 2016.
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