Optical

Usually optical coatings either reflect or transmit a given color of light, but now researchers at the University of Rochester have developed a new class of optical coating that can both transmit and reflect the same wavelengths at the same time.

Nokia and Vodafone have tested a new broadband technology that delivers a blistering 100 gigabits per second (Gbps). Conducted using the kind of network seen in the last mile between an ISP and a user, it could eventually be rolled out commercially.

Japanese mathematician Kokichi Sugihara has won the annual Illusion of the Year Contest with a fascinating 3D model of a nearly 200-year old 2D illusion. The contest, run by the UK-based Neural Correlate Society has been bending brains for 16 years.

Sci-fi has been promising holograms for decades, but they always feel out of reach. Now Samsung has made strides towards realistic holograms, with a prototype thin-panel device that can display 3D images in 4K resolution with a wide viewing angle.

Austin-based game developer Frank Force has won the Best Illusion of the Year prize for his mind-bending yet simple animation of twisting rings that seem to be rotating in different directions simultaneously.

The mysteries of human perception are endlessly fascinating. For over a decade the Neural Correlate Society has been running an annual competition celebrating the best new perceptual illusions, and the 2018 winners are sure to short-circuit your brain … in the best possible way.

The concept of an invisibility cloak sounds like pure science fiction. But researchers have developed a new device that works in a completely different way to existing technology, neatly sidestepping some past issues and potentially helping to hide everyday objects under everyday conditions.

​Eye exams may be getting quicker and easier, plus ophthalmologists may be able to save money on equipment, thanks to a new instrument developed by scientists in Poland and Spain. Unlike existing eye-examining technology, it allows the entire eye (from front to back) to be imaged via a single lens.

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.

Using extra-sensitive optical detectors built into a soft prosthetic hand, researchers at Cornell University have demonstrated a prototype that is able to tell by touch whether fruit is ripe, or to modify the pressure exerted on a material simply in response to the way it feels.

Scientists have used a form of liquid light to create a semiconductor switch that is so small that it not only blurs the distinction between light and electricity, but could also enable the development of much faster and smaller electronic components well into the future.

Incorporating a number of quantum technologies on a single integrated chip, an international team of researchers claim that their work paves the way for quantum computing circuits to be built into a range of everyday devices