Much like the murky waters of the deep ocean, the unpredictable fluidity of Earth’s atmosphere can distort any light that ...

If you shine a light at a mirror, the beam is reflected inward to a central focal point, bouncing back toward you in a predictable manner—it’s a simple reflection of light, a spatial inversion. When a ...

Can we turn back time? Ask a savvy physicist, and the answer will be “it depends.” Schemes for retrograde time travel abound but usually involve irreconcilable paradoxes and rely on outlandish ...

Redefining the repeating pattern in photonic crystals creates tightly confined pathways for light while preserving symmetry, ...

Editor’s Note: Call to Earth is a CNN editorial series committed to reporting on the environmental challenges facing our planet, together with the solutions. Rolex’s Perpetual Planet Initiative has ...

This circuit can be used to check, for example, whether the door of a refrigerator has been properly closed. An LED sends out a beam of light, which, if the door is closed, is reflected. An optical ...

Have you ever sat on the bottom of a swimming pool and pondered your watery ceiling? Most of the surface is a sheet of light blue, and you can't see through it, even though the water is clear. But ...

On the night of May 16, a large beam of light resembling a spotlight was seen shooting into the night sky in the Southwest, but its source remains unknown. A Facebook post sharing the mysterious light ...