March 2021

Researcher Natalie Wheeler drawing optical-fiber at the Optoelectronics Research Centre, University of Southampton, U.K. [Courtesy of the University of Southampton]

cover feature open

Is Nothing Better Than Something?

Jeff Hecht

The idea of guiding light through hollow pipes dates to the 19th century, but solid-core fibers made much better optical waveguides. Now the emerging technology of hollow-core fibers has resurrected an old idea.

Feature

Silicon Carbide: From Abrasives to Quantum Photonics

Daniil M. Lukin, Melissa A. Guidry and Jelena Vučković

Traditionally used for abrasives, LEDs and transistors, the material may enable scalable quantum and nonlinear photonics through direct integration of solid-state qubits into photonic circuits.

Feature

Tim’s Vermeer, Reconsidered

David G. Stork

A recent documentary feature film, Tim’s Vermeer, proposes that Johannes Vermeer secretly used a catadioptric telescope and novel mirror–comparator procedure to create his sublime paintings of domestic interiors. How well does that bold hypothesis stand up to analysis?