“Invisible grating” bends laser using just air and sound

Guiding lasers where they need to go is a key part of optics systems, and now engineers at DESY have developed a way to bend laser beams without anything touching them. The light is deflected using an invisible grating made of air shaped by acoustics.C… Continue reading “Invisible grating” bends laser using just air and sound

Silence may not be deafening, but researchers say we can hear it

Nearly 60 years after American folk duo Simon & Garfunkel sang their dangerously earworm-y tune “The Sound of Silence,” a team of researchers has resurrected the age-old question as to whether the absence of noise in itself is something we can actually… Continue reading Silence may not be deafening, but researchers say we can hear it