Terahertz (THz) spectroscopy, and especially terahertz imaging, holds large potential in the field of nondestructive, contact-free testing. The ongoing advances in the development of THz systems, as well as the appearance of the first related commercial products, indicate that large-scale market introduction of THz systems [...]
An optical beam expander (also known as a collimator or up-collimator) is a two, or more, element optical system that changes the divergence characteristics and the size of the beam. They take a beam of light and expand its size. They are also used to reduce [...]
More and more robots and artificial intelligence is being seen throughout the world of technology. Alongside smartphones; fitness accessories and robotic appliances are showing up. Personal, practical and well-designed, these products bundle both robotic hardware and the ease of connected services into consumer-friendly packages for [...]
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a fundamentally new type of optical imaging modality. OCT is a non-invasive imaging test that uses light waves to take high-resolution, cross-section pictures of the retina, retinal nerve fiber layer, and the optic nerve head. OCT imaging is somewhat analogous [...]
Although it’s a relatively recent marine research tool, underwater video monitoring in marine environments is becoming more widespread as the technology improves. Since the 1950’s it’s been used to monitor marine plankton, fish behavior and freshwater biodiversity. For the most part these video systems have [...]
A one trillion-ton iceberg – one of the largest ever recorded – has calved away from the Larsen C Ice Shelf in Antarctica. The final breakthrough was detected in data from NASA’s Aqua MODIS satellite instrument, which uses infrared thermal imaging at a resolution of [...]
Biomedical engineers at Duke University have discovered a way to detect signs of cancer on a cell-by-cell basis using a technique that involves two lasers and a camera. The technique, using biomedical lasers and cameras, can assess an individual cell’s stiffness using patterns that appear [...]
Using mirrors and lenses instead of photovoltaic cells is a major player in developing large-scale solar grid systems. Such ‘concentrated solar power’ replaces the valuable silicon in photo cells with mirrors and lenses on a base of aluminum or glass. They are able to trap [...]
On December 4-5, 1884, John Wesley Powell addressed the U.S. Congress seeking authorization for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to begin systematic topographic mapping of the United States. During the next 125 years, terrain mapping techniques evolved from field surveys through photogrammetry to the computer-based [...]
Asteroid mining could one day be a vast new way to gather scarce materials if the financial and technological obstacles can be overcome. Asteroids are lumps of metals, rock and dust, sometimes laced with ice and tar, which are the cosmic “leftovers” from the solar [...]
