Lasers, Optics & Photonics

First detection of excitons in a topological insulator

Materials Today: A new study has demonstrated a major innovation in light-driven electronics using 2D material samples of bismuthine. An international team of researchers collaborating with the Würzburg-Dresden Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat, led by Ralph Claessen, have achieved the first detection…

Lasers Shot At Sky Can Guide Lightning

IEEE Spectrum: A powerful trillion-watt laser shot at the sky can generate lightning rods in the air that can guide lightning strikes to keep them from causing havoc, a new study finds. To date, the most common and effective form of…

NASA unveils initial plan for multibillion-dollar telescope to find life on alien worlds

Science: Astronomers are always looking to the next big thing. This week, at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society, researchers packed into a standing-room-only conference room to hear…

NASA And SpaceX Consider Daring Plan To ‘Reboost’ The Hubble Space Telescope

Forbes: Can NASA and SpaceX help save the Hubble Space Telescope? Launched in 1990, the world’s premier visible light space observatory has been sending back to Earth jaw-dropping images…