Optical

Researchers have developed a more precise design for "optical tweezers," using a metasurface lens studded with millions of tiny pillars which focus light to trap and manipulate individual atoms. It could pave the way for powerful quantum devices.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have presented some remarkable audio from a new optical microphone system that uses cameras to see and reconstruct sonic vibrations. Remarkably, it can cleanly separate a single instrument playing in a group.

Engineers at MIT have developed a modular computer chip with components that can communicate using flashes of light. This could allow for electronics that can easily be upgraded with new sensors or processors, rather than replacing the whole chip.

A powerful new optical chip can process almost two billion images per second. The device is made up of a neural network that processes information as light without needing components that slow down traditional computer chips, like memory.

When you view the image above, does it look like black smear in the center is expanding? If it does, that means you're like most people – and your brain may even think that you're entering a tunnel, adjusting your eyes accordingly.

Inspired by the dual-focus visual system of a 500-million-year-old trilobite, researchers have created and tested a light field camera with the greatest depth of field ever demonstrated. Everything between 3 cm and 1.7 km from the lens stays sharp.

Scientists have developed a sensor made of incredibly thin strands of sapphire that can withstand extreme heat and radiation, and possibly be put to work in the harsh environment of nuclear fusion reactors and enable more streamlined air travel.

No matter how many times 3D displays emerge and fade, the tech refuses to die. Researchers have now developed a glasses-free 3D display prototype that uses nanostructured lenses to produce more realistic images that can be seen over a longer distance.

Researchers have developed a new type of adaptive liquid lens that changes its focal distance when a voltage is applied. Made with an electrically responsive fluid, the lens is lightweight and could be easily manufactured for use in smartphones.

An innovative anamorphic illusion has taken the top prize in the annual Best Illusion of the Year contest. Twisting minds for 17 years the contest highlights the ways our brain can be tricked using simple perceptual illusions.

For now, quantum computers are mostly limited to labs and big experimental setups. But Japanese researchers have now made a step towards more accessible quantum computing devices, finding a way to “twist” light at room temperature.

Project Loon may have been deflated, but its legacy lives on in Project Taara. The team has salvaged the technology to deliver internet connectivity with lasers, demonstrating the viability in a test between two cities separated by the Congo River.