Image of the Week
Striking images of optics and photonics, contributed by OPN readers
Additive Color
Focused red, green and blue lasers visualised using graphite powder. The intersection of the beams appears white due to additive color mixing.
—Anatolii Kashchuk, Ukraine, Wiki Science Competition 2021; CC-BY-4.0
25 Oct 2024
Aurora Borealis
The aurora visible from southern Oregon, USA. The pole star Polaris can be seen just above the rays pointing toward it.
—Robert Schalck, Senior Member (Emeritus), North Bend, OR, USA
18 Oct 2024
Liquid Crystal Droplets
In a monodispersed liquid crystal (LC) microemulsion, LCs surrounded by an immiscible medium form a spherical shape due to surface tension.
—Ramesh Manda, University of Hyderabad, India
11 Oct 2024
Light in Sweet Media
Reflections of light from white LED strips on the shiny surface of caramelized strawberries. In an experiment, the reflections were analyzed using the principles of Möbius transformations.
— Alberto Tufaile, Soft Matter Lab, EACH, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
04 Oct 2024
Green Tunnel
Scattering produced by a 520-nm laser projected onto a 3D-printed cylinder creates a green tunnel that illuminates the printing layers. Image taken with a Nikon 5100, f/4.5, ISO 320.
— Baruc Zago Mazzocco, Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica Óptica y Electrónica, Puebla, Mexico
27 Sep 2024
Chemical Flowers
This photomicrograph reveals a floral-like pattern formed by absorption around a central nucleation point in a crystallizing chemical film. The observed colors arise from variations in the orientation and thickness of the crystal grains as viewed through crossed-polarizers and a wave plate. The intricate structure results from molecular charges.
—Karl Gaff, Art of Science Photography, Dublin, Ireland
20 Sep 2024
Modeling the Hawaiian Shoreline
Present-day coastal flood risk on the island of Hawaii, with higher risk indicated in dark blue. Sea surface temperature anomaly data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) indicate low temperatures in the east (red) to high in the west (orange). Inland, high-probability locations of wetlands are shown in bright yellow and could aid in climate-adaptation planning.
—NASA/Lisa Tanh, Matilda Anokye, Ian Lee, Connor Racette
13 Sep 2024
White-Light Interference
A glass plate placed on one of the arms of a common path interferometer creates a modified interference pattern on half the beam. Image captured in the Optics and Photonics Lab of the Technological University of Tulancingo, with the collaboration of Noel Ivan Toto Arellano.
—Ana K. Reyes, Universidad Tecnológica de Tulancingo, Hidalgo, Mexico
06 Sep 2024
Lipid "Islands"
A close-up image of the surface of a soap bubble reveals lipid "islands” of soap floating on a very thin film of water, magnification 250×.
— Karl Gaff, Art of Science Photography, Dublin, Ireland, Wiki Science Competition 2021; CC-BY-4.0
30 Aug 2024
Swirling Magnetic Field
A close-up of Sagittarius A*, our Galaxy's central black hole, taken by radio telescopes around the world. Superposed are illustrative curved lines indicating polarized light likely emitted from swirling magnetized gas.
—EHT Collaboration
23 Aug 2024