Optics for the Giant Magellan Telescope
Astronomers will soon be using the 25-m Giant Magellan Telescope to probe the universe with a sensitivity and resolution that go far beyond anything that can be achieved today.
Buddy Martin
Scatterings
Spectroscopic test for killer chemical; ultrafast imaging captures fleeting phenomena; insulating compound formed by adding hydrogen to graphene.
Patricia Daukantas
Laser Tweezers and Holographic Optical Trapping
Tractor beams have long been a staple of science fiction, and now they have a real-life equivalent on the micro-scale. Laser tweezers can trap and hold tiny objects in three dimensions and may one day be used to manufacture micro- and nano-scale products.
Ward Lopes
Having Fun with Silicon Marbles
Silicon gave us the microelectronics revolution of the previous century and may lead the microphotonics revolution of this one. It is also the material of choice for manufacturing modern marbles, and on a smaller scale, for microspheres that may enable three-dimensional electrophotonic integration into volumetric lightwave circuits.
Ali Serpengüzel
Ole Rømer and the Speed of Light
While his 17th-century contemporaries were debating the nature of light, Ole Rømer was busy measuring its velocity. This little-known Danish scientist was the first to determine that light moves at a finite speed.
Patricia Daukantas
Wavy Diffraction Gratings
OSA Fellow Stephen Jacobs describes how he created “wavy gratings” by attaching a diffractive material to corrugated metal roofing. The result is a brilliant display of colors that welcomes visitors to Tucson’s City Hall and the University of Arizona’s Flandrau Science Center.
Stephen Jacobs
