Memories may affect how well the brain will learn about future events by shifting our perceptions of the world.
NASA has been laser-beamed data from millions of miles away — and it was a message the agency sent itself.
In a press release, the NASA-funded Jet Propulsion Lab at Caltech said that it has achieved “first light” laser communication via its Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment, which was launched last month on the Psyche spacecraft that’s currently making its way to the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
The experiment’s main focus is seeing how viable optical communications, or data transmitted via freakin laser beams, can be as we as a species properly enter our spacefaring age. And by all accounts, it was a resounding success.
A century ago, the Stern-Gerlach experiment established the truth of quantum mechanics. Now it’s being used to probe the clash of quantum theory and gravity.
Using 3D printing and porous silicon, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed compact, visible wavelength achromats that are essential for miniaturized and lightweight optics. These high-performance hybrid micro-optics achieve high focusing efficiencies, while minimizing volume and thickness. Further, these microlenses can be constructed into arrays to form larger area images for achromatic light-field imagers and displays.
This study was led by materials science and engineering professors Paul Braun and David Cahill, electrical and computer engineering professor Lynford Goddard and former graduate student Corey Richards. The results of this research were published in Nature Communications.
“We developed a way to create structures exhibiting the functionalities of classical compound optics but in highly miniaturized thin from, via non-traditional fabrication approaches,” says Braun.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has alluded to an upcoming “tap to park” feature for the automaker’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta. While it isn’t clear when it’s expected to become available, some have already pointed out how useful such a feature could be.
On Friday, Musk responded to a post on X saying that Tesla is developing a feature in which the car identifies potential parking space options, letting users tap the one they want to use. Upon doing so, the driver will then be able to leave the vehicle before the vehicle parks in the selected space.
The statement came in response to another post claiming that a 360-degree bird’s eye view would be irrelevant in a world of self-driving vehicles, as the driver wouldn’t need to do anything at all for the vehicle to locate and park in a specific spot.
Exactly how is a person’s eye color determined? It depends on the amount, type and distribution of melanin, or pigment, in the iris of the eye, a genetics expert reveals — and more.
I’m going to read this later but the idea of light kinda/sorta traveling back in time a bit is intriguing.
Light can be reflected not only in space but also in time—and researchers exploring such “time reflections” are finding a wealth of delightfully odd and useful effects.
By Anna Demming
FIRE president Greg Lukianoff joins Bill Maher to discuss the standard for free expression on college campuses.
The FDA has approved two new gene therapies for sickle cell disease, a ‘functional cure’ for many patients.