It was the summer of 1969. Scientists in Rochester, N.Y., prepared to fire up an experimental laser. Everything was in place—from the cooling system to ensure the laser didn't burst into flames to the ...

In a discovery that challenges conventional optics, scientists have managed to make a laser beam cast its own shadow—a feat previously thought impossible, as light typically passes through other light ...

Scientists show that it is possible to make a femtosecond laser that fits in the palm of one's hand using a glass substrate. Is it possible to make a femtosecond laser entirely out of glass? That's ...

Engineers have created a device that generates incredibly tiny, earthquake-like vibrations on a microchip—and it could ...

James has been writing about technology for years but has loved it since the early 90s. While his main areas of expertise are maker tools -- 3D printers, vinyl cutters, paper printers, and laser ...

Tubular laser beams can create what amount to fiber-optic cables made of thin air, researchers report in a study to appear in Physical Review X. Laser-heated air can efficiently transmit light signals ...