Researchers have developed a novel model to accurately and efficiently predict the impact of “green water”—water washing onto the deck of an offshore facility during extreme wave conditions.

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The candela, the international unit of light in use for almost a century, forms the basis of photometry. According to a new study, measurements derived from it systematically misjudge the brightness of colored light sources and depart markedly from human perception.

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At the bottom of the ocean, optical fibers transmit telecommunications and internet data around the world. Waveguides make that feat possible by channeling and amplifying the light—and therefore the data within—over enormous distances.

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Quantum computers hold great promise for applications from drug discovery to cybersecurity. Yet figuring out what would give quantum computers their edge over everyday “classical” computers is a subtle problem. A new theoretical study led by researchers at the Cavendish Laboratory shows that quantum computers are harder to make powerful than previously assumed while offering […]

In the world of fusion energy, scientists and engineers study the fourth state of matter known as plasma in an effort to design and build a new type of power plant. Relying on the heat produced by two small atoms smashing together, a network of such facilities would help create a novel source of stable […]

Despite science’s best efforts to classify the vast menagerie of subatomic particles discovered over the past few decades, some exotic varieties defy explanation. Now, nuclear physicists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility have found evidence of two unexpected structures that could help better sort the zoo of exotic particles.

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Niobium-94, an isotope of niobium with 41 protons and 53 neutrons, is a critical crossroads in the complex nuclear processes that forge heavy elements under the intense pressures and temperatures of dying stars. In an article published in Physical Review Letters, the n_TOF Collaboration reports the first-ever measurement of the probability of niobium-94 taking one […]

Researchers at the University of Oldenburg’s Institute of Physics are working on techniques for precision control of electric fields of light, which allow the dynamics of individual electrons to be manipulated in experiments. Now a team from the Attosecond Microscopy research group, led by Dr. Jan Vogelsang, has taken a decisive step toward this goal. […]