April 2013 Issue
Feature Articles
The Tiniest Traps: Optical Manipulation Gets Smaller
Arthur Ashkin ushered in the field of optical manipulation more than 40 years ago. Today, smaller and smaller tools, such as optical “nanotweezers” and precisely focused lasers, are becoming practical for controlling single cells, individual proteins, DNA and even the behavior of worms.
by Valerie CoffeyA Broadening Vision for Adaptive Optics
Traditionally, adaptive optics has been used to improve telescope optics. However, wavefront correction techniques have also given researchers novel ways of exploring human vision and enhancing microscopy techniques.
by Lynn SavageSatyendra Nath Bose and Bose-Einstein Statistics
Although not as well known as his contemporaries, Satyendra Nath Bose was arguably one of the most important scientists in the 20th century. His revolutionary way of viewing photon behavior and photon statistics—later known as Bose statistics—changed the field in a dramatic way.
by Barry R. MastersDepartments and Columns
Scatterings
Headliners, policy news and industry updates.
Read to Succeed
Four business publications recommended by Milton Chang.
Tractor Beams Revisited
Apart from micro-scale optical tweezers, tractor beams have been considered nothing more than the stuff of sci-fi fantasy. Time to think again …
My Research Life in Canada: A Tale of Two Labs
Ming Li describes his experiences working in two of Canada’s leading photonics research groups.