February 2009 Issue
Feature Articles
Optical Filters in Nature
Optical engineers require an array of sophisticated equipment to produce what Mother Nature creates effortlessly—optical filters that are diverse, complex and visually striking.
by H.D. WolpertHalf a Century of Laser Weapons
Even before the laser was invented, science fiction writers saw rich potential in the use of light-beam “death rays” as powerful tools of destruction. But the real history of directed-energy weapons in the United States has been fraught with political and technical challenges and setbacks.
by Jeff HechtReflections on Total Internal Reflection
These authors probe some of the most fundamental approximations in optics to explore why total internal reflection is not as straightforward as it might seem.
by Lorne A. Whitehead and Michele A. MossmanDepartments and Columns
LightPath Finds a New Path
How a niche telecom company turned into a high-volume supplier.
Plasma Polarization Puzzler
University of Illinois at Chicago researchers produced pairs of 80-fs, 800-nm pulses using a Ti:sapphire laser and a Michelson interferometer.
OSA’s First Four Presidents
A look back at the Optical Society’s founding fathers.
Energy Solutions that Work Smarter, not Harder.
The 2008 OSA/MRS Congressional Fellow makes the case for an often-overlooked energy solution: increasing the efficiency of our existing resources.
Metamaterials Enable Sub-Diffraction Imaging
Optical superlenses made with negative-refractive materials could allow much finer optical lithography and chip inspection.
Did You Know?
Substrate-Bound Proteins Create Image of Einstein
![An artist’s rendering of a pulse of circularly polarized light hitting a 2D semiconductor. [Illustration by S. Alvey / University of Michigan]](https://opnmedia.blob.core.windows.net/$web/opn/media/images/articles/2025/0125/departments/202501-cover-web.jpg?ext=.jpg)
