Electrons reveal light. To image the motion of wavefronts, a team of researchers set up a very clever experiment. First, the surface plasmons were generated in gold using an extremely short pulse ...

Free electron lasers (FELs) have proven their worth, but next-generation light sources will have to do better than produce ultrabright x-ray pulses 100 or so times a second. What's needed is ...

A team of scientists has developed a powerful new way to detect subtle magnetic signals in common metals like copper, gold, and aluminum—using nothing more than light and a clever technique. Their ...

Gold standard: artist’s impression of the disc-shaped photonic switches integrated within an optical circuit. (Courtesy: C. Haffner/NIST) A highly compact, low-energy device capable of switching the ...