Thin films might not come up in conversation every day, but they are all around us. Take the metallic plastic films of chip ...

"Historically, these two technologies developed separately—one in gravitational physics, the other in atomic and optical physics," says Shin. "In our work, we bring them together. By applying laser ...

Machining, involving the precise cutting and shaping of materials, is a key manufacturing process. As industries increasingly ...

Scientists in the Riccio College of Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of California Santa Barbara have demonstrated key laser and ion trap components necessary ...

Last year marked the 270th anniversary of Benjamin Franklin’s lightning rod — but it’s more than a relic of history. The Franklin rod remains in use today because the simple design exploits some ...

The Kardar-Parisi-Zhang equation has been experimentally verified for the first time on 2D surfaces - thanks to sophisticated material design and polaritons. The question of how surfaces grow is one ...

Part of our International Year of Quantum Science and Technology coverage Quantum-based gravity sensors promise a sensitive and robust way to locate buried objects, and they’ve recently taken their ...

Theodore Maiman, who built the first working laser, passed away on 5 May aged 79. Maiman made his breakthrough in 1960 by generating pulses of coherent light from a fingertip-sized lump of ruby ...