When a high-intensity laser interacts with plasma, the charged particles typically oscillate back and forth like waves on the ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. A major scientific breakthrough could change how we understand and control ionization — the process where atoms lose electrons and ...

For more than half a century, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence has been built on the assumption that if aliens exist and try to communicate, their signals will be faint, scattered, and ...

Most laser sources produce Gaussian beams that diverge as they propagate. This natural spreading limits their effectiveness in applications that require light to remain concentrated over long ...

Scientists at MIT discovered that chaotic laser light can spontaneously form a highly focused beam instead of scattering—if the conditions are just right. This “pencil beam” enabled them to image the ...

Researchers have built a paper-thin chip that converts infrared light into visible light and directs it precisely, all without mechanical motion. The design overcomes a long-standing efficiency-versus ...