Dozens of times over the last decade NASA scientists have launched laser beams at a reflector the size of a paperback novel about 240,000 miles (385,000 kilometers) away from Earth. They announced ...

Physicists have detected laser-assisted electron scattering using circularly polarized light for the first time, revealing new ways to probe atomic-scale chirality.

Experts at the BELLA Center used dual laser beams focused onto a sheet of gas to reach a milestone energy in laser-driven electron acceleration. Four members of the larger team gathered with the ...

In a discovery that challenges conventional optics, scientists have managed to make a laser beam cast its own shadow—a feat previously thought impossible, as light typically passes through other light ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. There’s a reason lightning rods haven’t changed much since ...

Scientists have found a competitor to the lightning rod — one of the most tried and true methods of controlling where lightning strikes. The new method is far more expensive, but it allowed scientists ...

MIT researchers have built a nanoscale photonic device shaped like a tiny ski jump that launches laser light directly off a ...

Lightning rods have been used to guide lightning strikes for centuries, but now scientists have demonstrated something a bit more advanced than a humble metal stick. Beaming a high-powered laser into ...

Tubular laser beams can create what amount to fiber-optic cables made of thin air, researchers report in a study to appear in Physical Review X. Laser-heated air can efficiently transmit light signals ...