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A Monster Light Source with Multiple Applications

There are few laser-based light sources brighter than T-REX, a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) project developed jointly by the NIF & Photon Science Principal Directorate and Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s (ORNL) Physical Sciences Directorate.

6 Apr 2008

Ultra-Thin Camera Lenses for Broadband Long-Wave Infrared (LWIR) Imaging

An engineering research team from the University of Utah (United States) has recently developed a new generation of camera lenses that are almost completely flat and offer the possibility for broadband long-wave infrared (LWIR) imaging.

By Ben Pilkington 3 Mar 2020

Nano-Light Source - Lighting a Way for Future Biological Research

A bio-friendly nano-sized light source capable of emitting coherent light across the visible spectrum has been invented by a team of researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the University of California at Berkeley.

3 Jan 2008

LCD Backlighting - Why They Are Used and How OLED is Replacing LCDs

Liquid crystal displays do not generate light. Think of them as an array of blinds that allow light through when open and not when closed.

21 Oct 2007

Dioptre - The Definition of Dioptre

Dioptre is a measurement unit that describes the optical power of a lens or a curved mirror. Dioptre can be expressed as the reciprocal value of its focal length in meters.

17 Nov 2007

Breaking up the Hydrogen Molecule

The big world of classical physics mostly seems sensible: waves are waves and particles are particles, and the moon rises whether anyone watches or not.

3 Jan 2008

Modern Astronomy Depends on Mirrors

A whole new world came to life for Alice when she passed through the looking glass – beetles with bad attitudes, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, smiling cats, talking tiger lilies and much more.

9 Jan 2008

Materials Technology Connecting the World at the Speed of Light with an All-Optical Solution to Communications

The Internet is often referred to as the information superhighway, but the real superhighway is the optical fiber that connects computers globally at the speed of light.

21 Aug 2007

Glare - What is Glare and How Does it Occur?

When there is an excessive contrast between the dark areas and bright areas in the direction of viewing, then glare can result. Simply, when there is too much light hitting the surface, this phenomenon will cause glare.

19 Nov 2007

What is a Focal Length?

The focal length of an optical system is a measure of how strongly it focuses or diffuses light. A system has greater optical power if it has a shorter focal length than a system that possesses a longer focal length.

18 Nov 2007