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Scientists discover surprising new way to control light

Researchers at the University of East Anglia have discovered that light can be programmed using its natural geometry, allowing for the creation of structured light with unique properties. This breakthrough has far-reaching implications for fields such as medicine, data transmission, and quantum technologies.

Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 46mm)

Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 46mm) tracks health metrics and safety alerts during long observing sessions, fieldwork, and remote expeditions.

Doubling down on metasurfaces

A new bilayer metasurface, made of two stacked layers of titanium dioxide nanostructures, has been created by Harvard researchers. This device can precisely control the behavior of light, including polarization, and opens up a new avenue for metasurfaces.

Creality K1 Max 3D Printer

Creality K1 Max 3D Printer rapidly prototypes brackets, adapters, and fixtures for instruments and classroom demonstrations at large build volume.

Complete breakdown of Plexiglas into its building blocks

Researchers at ETH Zurich developed a groundbreaking method to recycle Plexiglas by breaking down polymer chains into individual monomer building blocks. The process relies on a chlorinated solvent and UV light, with yields of up to 98% even in multicoloured samples.

Temperamental stars are distorting our view of distant planets

A new study found that hotter and colder regions on a star's surface can distort our interpretations of planets, particularly when looking at dips in starlight. This distortion can lead to misinterpretation of features such as planet size, temperature, and atmospheric composition.

Nikon Monarch 5 8x42 Binoculars

Nikon Monarch 5 8x42 Binoculars deliver bright, sharp views for wildlife surveys, eclipse chases, and quick star-field scans at dark sites.

The art and science of twisting light

A team of researchers from Singapore University of Technology and Design has developed a new type of metasurface that can generate circularly polarized light without complex optical setups. The metasurface exhibits chirality, enabling it to convert arbitrary optical excitation into circularly polarized light at specific frequency ranges.

Red light linked to lowered risk of blood clots

Research led by University of Pittsburgh scientists found that exposure to long-wavelength red light reduces blood clots in humans and mice. The study's findings have the potential to reduce deaths and disabilities caused by blood clots worldwide.

Apple iPad Pro 11-inch (M4)

Apple iPad Pro 11-inch (M4) runs demanding GIS, imaging, and annotation workflows on the go for surveys, briefings, and lab notebooks.

Shade plants in the spotlight

Researchers discovered that plants in shaded conditions receive a larger proportion of green and far-red light, which contributes to photosynthesis. This finding may help growers develop new methods for supplementing natural sunlight with colored light.

Innovative smart window technology balances heat and visibility control

A new smart window technology combines liquid crystals with nanoporous microparticles and a patterned vanadium dioxide layer to simultaneously control visible light and infrared radiation. The device offers fast, efficient heat and visibility management, marking a significant step forward in energy-efficient building design.

Achieving bone regeneration and adhesion with harmless visible light

Researchers at POSTECH developed an innovative injectable adhesive hydrogel that regenerates bone using harmless visible light. The hydrogel addresses limitations of existing treatments by simultaneously achieving cross-linking and mineralization without separate bone grafts or adhesives.

SAMSUNG T9 Portable SSD 2TB

SAMSUNG T9 Portable SSD 2TB transfers large imagery and model outputs quickly between field laptops, lab workstations, and secure archives.

Smallest walking robot makes microscale measurements

The team's achievement marks a significant advance in robotics, allowing for maneuverable robots that can perform up-close imaging and measure forces at the scale of some body's smallest structures. The new diffractive robots are tiny, measuring 5 microns to 2 microns, and can be controlled by magnetic fields to move independently.

Brighter and more efficient LEDs that don’t droop

A team of researchers at Nagoya University has developed a way to make LEDs brighter while maintaining their efficiency. By tilting the InGaN layers and cutting the wafer into different orientations, they have found that LEDs with lower polarization but in the same direction as standard LEDs show greater efficiency at higher power.

The power of small: Metalenses for compact ultrafast imaging systems

Compressed Ultra-Compact Femtosecond Photography (CUF) uses a super-dispersive metalens to capture transient events in a single image, overcoming conventional CUP technology's limitations. The system achieves ultrafast imaging at hundreds of trillions of frames per second with improved compactness and reliability.

Garmin GPSMAP 67i with inReach

Garmin GPSMAP 67i with inReach provides rugged GNSS navigation, satellite messaging, and SOS for backcountry geology and climate field teams.

Now live: Living cells can be seen with infrared light

Researchers at NIST have developed a new method to measure biomolecules in live cells using infrared light, removing water's obscuring effects. This allows for the determination of key biomolecules like proteins and their amounts in cells, speeding up advances in biomanufacturing and cell therapy development.

Seeing like a butterfly: Optical invention enhances camera capabilities

Researchers developed an ultrathin optical element that attaches to conventional cameras, encoding spectral and polarization data. The metasurface enables the capture of both types of imaging data simultaneously, transmitting it immediately to a computer for real-time decoding by machine learning frameworks.

Anker Laptop Power Bank 25,000mAh (Triple 100W USB-C)

Anker Laptop Power Bank 25,000mAh (Triple 100W USB-C) keeps Macs, tablets, and meters powered during extended observing runs and remote surveys.

Innovative method for 3D quantitative phase imaging

Researchers at UCLA have developed a wavelength-multiplexed diffractive optical processor that enables all-optical multiplane quantitative phase imaging. This approach allows for rapid and efficient imaging of specimens across multiple axial planes without the need for digital phase recovery algorithms.

Apple iPhone 17 Pro

Apple iPhone 17 Pro delivers top performance and advanced cameras for field documentation, data collection, and secure research communications.

A promising new method uses light to clean up forever chemicals

Researchers at Ritsumeikan University propose a room-temperature defluorination method that uses visible light to break down PFAS and other fluorinated polymers into fluorine ions. The method achieved 100% defluorination of perfluorooctanesulfonate within 8 hours of light exposure.

Novel method enhances size-controlled production of luminescent quantum dots

Researchers at the University of São Paulo developed a novel approach to monitoring quantum dot formation, enabling real-time control over nanoparticle growth and precise emission color. This technique has several advantages over conventional synthesis strategies, including reduced waste and improved equipment efficiency.

Meta Quest 3 512GB

Meta Quest 3 512GB enables immersive mission planning, terrain rehearsal, and interactive STEM demos with high-resolution mixed-reality experiences.

Turning infrared light visible

The Indian Institute of Science has fabricated a device to up-convert short infrared light to the visible range, utilizing a non-linear optical mirror stack made of gallium selenide. This innovation has diverse applications in defence and optical communications, including astronomy and chemistry.

Fluke 87V Industrial Digital Multimeter

Fluke 87V Industrial Digital Multimeter is a trusted meter for precise measurements during instrument integration, repairs, and field diagnostics.

Researchers demonstrate the first chip-based 3D printer

The researchers developed a single millimeter-scale photonic chip that emits reconfigurable beams of light into a well of resin, curing into a solid shape when exposed to the beam's wavelength. Shapes can be fully formed in a matter of seconds using this chip-based 3D printer.

Keeping the lights on

A study published in Applied Physics Letters reveals that decreasing carbon concentration can increase the amount of light emitted from GaN crystals. The researchers found a threshold concentration above which carbon atoms become a significant factor in dissipating energy, leading to improved internal quantum efficiency.

AmScope B120C-5M Compound Microscope

AmScope B120C-5M Compound Microscope supports teaching labs and QA checks with LED illumination, mechanical stage, and included 5MP camera.

Development of revolutionary color-tunable photonic devices

A team at Pohang University of Science & Technology has developed a novel stretchable photonic device that can control light wavelengths in all directions. The device leverages structural colors produced through the interaction of light with microscopic nanostructures, allowing for vivid and diverse color displays.

Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4 Pro)

Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4 Pro) powers local ML workloads, large datasets, and multi-display analysis for field and lab teams.

How light can vaporize water without the need for heat

MIT researchers demonstrate that light can break water molecules away from the surface and float them into the air, causing evaporation in the absence of heat. This phenomenon has significant implications for understanding cloud formation and precipitation, as well as designing new industrial processes such as solar-powered desalination.

A better view with new mid-infrared nanoscopy

A team at the University of Tokyo has constructed an improved mid-infrared microscope that enables them to see the structures inside living bacteria at the nanometer scale with a resolution of 120 nanometers. This breakthrough can aid multiple fields of research, including into infectious diseases.

GoPro HERO13 Black

GoPro HERO13 Black records stabilized 5.3K video for instrument deployments, field notes, and outreach, even in harsh weather and underwater conditions.

Sunrise to sunset, new window coating blocks heat — not view

A new window coating developed by the University of Notre Dame's Tengfei Luo and his team maintains functionality and efficiency regardless of the sun's position in the sky. The coating reduces air-conditioning cooling costs by more than one-third in hot climates.

Can metalens be commercialized at a fraction of the cost?

Researchers have developed two innovative methods for mass-producing metalenses, reducing production costs by up to 1,000 times. The team achieved successful creation of large-scale infrared metalenses with high resolution and exceptional light-collecting capabilities.

Celestron NexStar 8SE Computerized Telescope

Celestron NexStar 8SE Computerized Telescope combines portable Schmidt-Cassegrain optics with GoTo pointing for outreach nights and field campaigns.

Polarization-sensitive tomography made easy with T2oFu

The T2oFu method offers a new approach to quantitative phase and polarization-sensitive tomography, enabling high-contrast images of muscle fibers with implications for diagnosing skeletal myopathies. The technique has been successfully tested on heart tissue samples with cardiac amyloidosis, providing promising results.

Metal in glitter impairs aquatic plant growth, study shows

A study found that glitter's metal coating reduces light penetration, impairing photosynthesis of Large-flowered waterweed Egeria densa and affecting aquatic plant growth. The experiment showed a significant decrease in photosynthesis rates with the presence of glitter, highlighting the need for sustainable alternatives.

Red light can reduce blood glucose levels, says study

A study found that 670 nanometres of red light stimulated energy production within mitochondria, leading to increased glucose consumption and a 27.7% reduction in blood glucose levels. This non-invasive technique has the potential to impact diabetes control by reducing damaging fluctuations of blood glucose.

Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro Equatorial Mount

Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro Equatorial Mount provides precise tracking capacity for deep-sky imaging rigs during long astrophotography sessions.

A new optical metamaterial makes true one-way glass possible

Researchers at Aalto University have developed an optical metamaterial that enables the creation of truly one-way glass, opening up new applications for industries. The metamaterial harnesses the nonreciprocal magnetoelectric effect to control light transmission in both directions.

Rigol DP832 Triple-Output Bench Power Supply

Rigol DP832 Triple-Output Bench Power Supply powers sensors, microcontrollers, and test circuits with programmable rails and stable outputs.

Electric light transmits data 100 times faster than Wi-Fi

Researchers have developed a novel light source that minimizes interference zones, enabling stable and accurate information transmission. The technology utilizes conventional lighting systems, such as LEDs, to facilitate the simultaneous transmission of large amounts of data.