Category Physics

After the interaction of a xenon atom with two photons from an attosecond pulse (purple), the atom is ionized and multiple electrons (green balls) are ejected. This two-photon interaction is made possible by the latest achievements in attosecond technology. (Image: Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik)

A newly developed laser technology has enabled physicists in the Laboratory for Attosecond Physics (jointly run by LMU Munich and the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics) to generate attosecond bursts of high-energy photons of unprecedented intensity. This has made it possible to observe the interaction of multiple photons in a single such pulse with electrons in the inner orbital shell of an atom.

In order to observe the ultrafast electron motion in the inner shells of atoms with short ...

Metalens (made of silicon) mounted on a transparent, stretchy polymer film, without any electrodes. The colorful iridescence is produced by the large number of nanostructures within the metalens. (Image courtesy of the Capasso Lab/Harvard SEAS)

Artificial eye automatically stretches to simultaneously focus and correct astigmatism and image shift. Inspired by the human eye, researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have developed an adaptive metalens, that is essentially a flat, electronically controlled artificial eye. The adaptive metalens simultaneously controls for 3 of the major contributors to blurry images: focus, astigmatism, and image shift.

“This research combines breakthroughs in artificial muscle technology with metalens technol...

Image (a) is a cross-sectional SEM image of the Li5La3Nb2O12 crystal layer and image (b) shows computationally simulated trajectories of the Li, La, Nb, and O framework atoms obtained for ?3 (2-1-1) = (1-21) at a temperature of 1300 K. Credit: Nobuyuki Zettsu Ph.D., the Center for Energy and Environmental Science, the Department of Materials Chemistry, Shinshu University

Researchers have developed a new way to improve lithium ion battery efficiency. Through the growth of a cubic crystal layer, the scientists have created a thin and dense connecting layer between the electrodes of the battery...

The wireless charging system created by University of Washington engineers. The charging laser and guard lasers are normally invisible to the human eye, but red beams have been inserted in place of the guard beams for demonstration purposes.Mark Stone/University of Washington

Although mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones let us communicate, work and access information wirelessly, their batteries must still be charged by plugging them in to an outlet. But engineers at the University of Washington have for the first time developed a method to safely charge a smartphone wirelessly using a laser. A narrow, invisible beam from a laser emitter can deliver charge to a smartphone sitting across a room – and can potentially charge a smartphone as quickly as a standard USB cable...