MIT engineers have found a way to give chip-based lidar a wider, clearer view without relying on moving parts。 Their design uses differently shaped antennas that can sit close together without scrambling one another’s signals。 In tests, the system sharply reduced interference while steering a single precise beam across a broad field of view
A team of mathematicians used whimsical "silly sprinklers" to solve a physics mystery that has puzzled scientists for decades。 Their experiments showed that the rotation of both normal and reverse sprinklers is driven by the momentum of flowing water, not by the outside water flow or other long-standing theories。 The results finally provide a clear
Dark matter may be far more complicated than scientists once believed。 A new study suggests it could consist of at least two different kinds of particles that slowly separate over time, with heavier particles sinking toward the centers of galaxies and lighter ones drifting outward。 This simple idea could explain several puzzling cosmic observations
Researchers discovered a proton-assisted mechanism that greatly improves how triplet energy moves between quantum dots and nearby molecules。 The proton briefly shifts position, helps coordinate electron movement, and then returns to where it started。 This quantum-driven shuttle could offer a powerful new way to tune solar cells, lasers, and catalyt
NASA's PACE satellite captured the Black Sea glowing turquoise during its annual phytoplankton bloom。 The vivid color comes from massive numbers of coccolithophores, microscopic organisms whose reflective shells brighten the water enough to be seen from space。 An astronaut aboard the International Space Station also photographed the bloom spreading
Scientists at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have discovered a surprisingly simple way to create exotic light structures called optical skyrmions using a 200-year-old optical effect known as the Poisson spot。 Instead of relying on expensive, highly engineered materials, they simply shine a laser at a tiny circular disc, producing sta
Dying Sun-like stars may not fade away quietly。 As blobs of gas erupt unevenly from their swollen surfaces, each burst gives the star a tiny push in the opposite direction。 Thousands of these random kicks could eventually break apart distant stellar pairs or, in rare cases, drive two stars into a violent collision
NASA is preparing for future astronaut landings on the Moon with an unusually ambitious orbital rehearsal。 During Artemis III in 2027, Orion astronauts will rendezvous and dock separately with prototype lunar landers from Blue Origin and SpaceX, allowing crews and ground teams to test the complex maneuvers needed for later missions
Scientists have created a programmable optical chip that can slow light on demand, giving engineers far greater control over how optical signals propagate through a circuit。 The technology could provide the delays, synchronization, and buffering functions needed to make light-based computing more practical。 A single chip could eventually perform se
NASA's Perseverance rover has reached an impressive new milestone on Mars, completing the equivalent of a full marathon by driving 26。2 miles (42。195 kilometers) across the Red Planet