Image of the Week

A Lantern Array

A harmony of lamps created by light from bulbs, gently diffusing through Japanese paper. The lanterns were at the Sandanbeki cave Wakayama, Japan, where the goddess Benzaiten (called Saraswati in India) is deified.

—Takanori Nomura, Wakayama University

17 Feb 2020

Thin-Film Interference

Thin-film optical interference effects observed in a thermal evaporator from a chromium–gold deposition.

—Calum Williams, University of Cambridge

10 Feb 2020

Steamy Scene

Colorful display of light diffraction through fine water mist from a steaming cup of coffee.

—Catalin Florea, OSA Senior Member

03 Feb 2020

Light Through Living Tissue

Propagation of visible light in living tissue. All the wavelengths get absorbed except red light, which propagates through. This basic demonstration is a clear evidence that red or near infrared light can be used for biomedical applications.

—Francesca Petronella, Italian National Council Of Research, Institute Of Crystallography

27 Jan 2020

Traveling laser beam

Traveling laser beam through a high-refractive-index medium. The image was acquired by means of a high-resolution CCD camera.

—Alexa Guglielmelli, University of Calabria and Sapienza University of Rome, Italy

20 Jan 2020

Raman Interaction

Generation of Raman sidebands in diamond. Two Gaussian laser beams, pump (purple) and Stokes (dark orange), enter a Raman medium (diamond) and generate a broadband of higher order anti-Stokes. The photo was taken with a Canon EOS 80D, by moving a white screen in front of the beams at a 30-second time exposure. The experimental setup was made by Aysan Bahari from Alexei Sokolov's group at Texas A&M University, USA, and the photo was taken by Aysan Bahari and Dustin Scriven, also at Texas A&M. [Honorable mention, 2019 After Image photo contest.]

—Aysan Bahari, Texas A&M University

13 Jan 2020

Multiple simulated solar radiation beams

Multiple simulated solar radiation beams penetrate in a low-scattering, high-clarity silica aerogel. Because of the weak scattering effect (especially toward the shorter wavelengths), the light path is visible and appears blue within the aerogel. Multiple mirrors in the solar simulator produced multiple light beams, which are then focused on the aerogel sample. [Honorable mention, 2019 After Image photo contest.]

—Lin Zhao, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

06 Jan 2020

Fresnel Cone

A solid glass Fresnel cone, illuminated by a rainbow-colored light source. The cone uses total internal reflection of incident polarized light to easily generate white-light orbital angular momentum and radially polarized vector vortex beams. Image taken in collaboration with QuantIC imaging hub, based at the University of Glasgow, U.K. [Honorable mention, 2019 After Image photo contest.]

—Kevin J. Mitchell, University of Glasgow

30 Dec 2019

Lighting Up the Holidays

Holiday lights at Shore Acres State Park, Coos Bay, Oregon. Nikon Cool Pix, 1/2 second ISO 400.

—Robert Schalck, Senior Member

23 Dec 2019

Laser-Induced Damage

Microscopic image of damage caused by intense laser irradiation on a dielectric surface. [Honorable mention, 2019 After Image photo contest.]

—LIDARIS Laser Damage Testing Team, Vilnius, Lithuania

16 Dec 2019

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