Cooled to almost absolute zero, atoms not only move in waves like light but also can be focused into shapes called caustics, similar to the reflecting or refracting patterns light makes on the bottom ...

Physicists in Germany have generated what they call a "special" state of matter, using a three-dimensional optical interference pattern. Turning up the intensity of this pattern created a gaseous ...

If you’re diving into DIY laser engraving, expensive software shouldn’t limit your creativity. Thankfully, several free design tools pack serious power without the price tag. Whether prepping vector ...

Nature is brimming with beautiful patterns, like the seemingly complex shapes of snowflakes, coastlines, clouds and seashells. But zoom in, and you'll see fractals, meaning the same, simple pattern ...

Fractals commonly show up in nature, from spiral-shaped seashells to heads of cauliflower. Now physicists have found these complex, self-repeating patterns in a very unnatural spot: laser light. Peer ...

Cancer diagnoses traditionally require invasive or labor-intensive procedures such as tissue biopsies. Researchers at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU) have now reported on a method ...

Scientists used 3D laser scanning to make repeat measurements of an area affected by the 2014 magnitude 6.0 South Napa earthquake in order to define in great detail the surface deformation that ...