#optics

A new Universe Today explainer walks through the physics behind Cherenkov radiation by focusing on a deceptively simple question: why does light travel more slowly through matter than through vacuum?

The sky’s color is more than a scenic backdrop. New reporting highlights how atmospheric physics, aerosols and pollution can turn deep blue skies milky white, making visible what is suspended in the air around us.

An IEEE Spectrum report highlights a MEMS photonics device small enough to project images at extreme miniaturization, with roots in quantum-computing hardware research.

Researchers say a newly reported 2D material shows promise for ultrathin waveplates, raising the prospect of smaller polarization-control components for imaging, displays, and satellite systems.

A precision optical vortex phase mask is emerging as a key technology for directly imaging faint Earth-like planets by canceling out the overwhelming light of their host stars.