Imagine shining a flashlight into a material and watching the light bend backward—or in an entirely unexpected direction—as ...

Applied physicists in the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have demonstrated a new way to structure light in custom, repeatable, three-dimensional patterns, ...

A team of scientists has replicated one of Thomas Edison's early experiments from his quest to make the lightbulb, but with ...

Rice University researchers recreated Edison's 1879 light bulb and found evidence it may have produced graphene by accident.

I test a series of light experiments to explore reflection, refraction, and optical illusions, demonstrating how light behaves in surprising and educational ways. GOP members face backlash after ...

If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in ...

Sometimes, the simplest solutions are the most revolutionary and impactful. During Brazil's energy crisis in 2002, mechanic Alfredo Moser developed an accessible and effective way to illuminate indoor ...

Scientists have demonstrated that negative refraction can be achieved using atomic arrays -- without the need for artificially manufactured metamaterials. Scientists have long sought to control light ...

A mirror, mechanically defined, is a sheet of substrate or metal that reflects incoming light. The polished side of a mirror, frequently coated with a layer of metal amalgam or made from naturally ...