Laser beams power soft robotic arm for complex tasks

Researchers have developed a soft robotic arm capable of performing complex tasks such as navigating around an obstacle or hitting a ball.

Silvia Cernea Clark-Rice • futurity
June 16, 2025 • ~7 min

How the science of tiny timescales could speed up computers and improve solar cell technology

Attosecond science allows the extremely fast movements of electron particles to be observed. This emerging field brings both opportunity and controversy.

Carla Faria, Professor of Physics, UCL • conversation
Jan. 15, 2025 • ~8 min

Laser blasts could solve the world’s plastic problem

Researchers have developed a way to blast molecules in plastics with a laser to break them down into their smallest parts for future reuse.

UT Austin • futurity
July 10, 2024 • ~5 min

In Romania, Europe Builds a Powerful Laser
VOA Learning English • voa
April 3, 2024 • ~5 min

High-energy laser weapons: A defense expert explains how they work and what they are used for

Militaries around the world are rapidly developing science fiction-like laser weapons, motivated in part by the growing threat from swarms of drones.

Iain Boyd, Director, Center for National Security Initiatives, and Professor of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder • conversation
March 7, 2024 • ~9 min

Drone-zapping laser weapons now effective (and cheap) reality

Operating the DragonFire laser system for ten seconds costs the equivalent of using a heater for an hour (less than £10 per shot).

Gianluca Sarri, Professor at the School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast • conversation
Jan. 22, 2024 • ~6 min

Using lasers to ‘heat and beat’ 3D-printed steel could help reduce costs

Researchers have developed a new method for 3D printing metal that could help reduce costs and make more efficient use of resources.

Cambridge University News • cambridge
Oct. 30, 2023 • ~5 min

Making 'movies' at the attosecond scale helps researchers better understand electrons − and could one day lead to super-fast electronics

The 2023 Nobel Prize in physics recognized researchers studying electron movement in real time − this work could revolutionize electronics, laser imaging and more.

Niranjan Shivaram, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Purdue University • conversation
Oct. 4, 2023 • ~8 min

Synthetic particles move like hurricanes and algae

The research centers on vortical flows, which appear in both biological and meteorological systems, such as algae or hurricanes.

James Devitt-NYU • futurity
July 17, 2023 • ~4 min

The digital future may rely on ultrafast optical electronics and computers

A researcher explains developments in using light rather than electrons to transmit information securely and quickly, even over long distances.

Mohammed Hassan, Associate Professor of Physics and Optical Sciences, University of Arizona • conversation
June 27, 2023 • ~6 min

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