What happens when a wave passes through some opening? It diffracts - or you like, you could say "bends". If the size of the opening is comparable to the wavelength of the wave, the bending can be ...

A material that is capable of the “reverse diffraction” of light and that is inspired by butterfly wings has been made by researchers in the US. The structure combines features of the butterfly’s ...

Visual demonstration of the performance of the diffraction grating. The zeroth order transmission refers to light that goes straight through the grating without undergoing diffraction (which should be ...

The diffraction grating of a spectrometer partially determines the optical resolution that can be achieved by the spectrometer and also determines the wavelength range. Selecting the correct grating ...

Today, astronomers seek to observe the faintest and most distant objects possible. Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs), with apertures in the order of several dozen meters, are the next generation ...

The spectrum of laser technologies available to hackers has gradually widened from basic gas lasers through CO2 tubes, diode lasers, and now fiber lasers. One of the newer entries is the MOPA laser, ...

Mimicking nature A material designed to mimic a quirky iridescent patch on a butterfly's wing may help prevent counterfeiting, say US engineers. The 'photonic' material, so called because it affects ...

A variety of ultrathin nanomechanical diffraction gratings that have been fashioned from the “wonder material” graphene have been created by an international team of researchers. The team wanted to ...