We are beginning to be able to control very precisely how light interacts with matter, creating opportunities for invisibility, soundproofing and even earthquake damage prevention.
Darkness is precious to astronomers, but it’s also good for everybody. We should ensure we preserve the dark by using the latest technologies responsibly.
Many people think relativity puts a hard speed limit on the universe, but it actually opens up the possibility of faster-than-light travel - if we can overcome some significant practical hurdles.
Disase carrying insects are attracted to light bulbs – a constraint of domestic solar energy.
Jon Nazca/Reuters
Is electricity making us sleep less? A new study on sleep in preindustrial societies suggests the answer is no. But it misses a big point: people in preindustrial societies spend more time in darkness than we do.
The electronic band STS9 is known for having intoxicating light shows accompany their live performances.
Shannon Tompkins/flickr
Suprising discovery of fundamental property of light could lead to applications in optical communications, metrology and quantum information processing.
The beauty of stained glass – all down to electron oscillations.
LoggaWiggler
During these dark winter months, spare a thought for artificial lights. From strings of lights adding holiday cheer to artificial sunlamps alleviating seasonal affective disorder, they brighten our days…
There’s definitely room for improvement in night-vision goggle technology – and graphene could make a huge contribution.
UK Ministry of Defence/Flickr
Graphene – an atom-thick sheet of carbon – has been touted as a new wonder material: it is stronger than steel and conducts electricity better than copper. In the journal Nature Nanotechnology today, my…
Most of the time we take light for granted. It arrives with the sunrise everyday and we turn it on with a flick of a switch every night. It appears to be ephemeral and benign to us humans but there is…
Bright lights, big city - in the 1950s lighting for productivity and security was overtaken by lighting for spectacle, mood and advertising.
Lighting the Sails - 59 Productions Vivid LIVE 2014.
If you’re in Melbourne or Sydney over the next couple of weeks, you can enjoy the nightly transformation of some familiar urban landmarks. How should we understand this growing global enthusiasm for spectacular…