International Box Day
History
Today, we celebrate more than Opticat's love for sitting in boxes.
Across optics and photonics, boxes are a key component of many scientific discoveries and technologies, including advanced imaging techniques, holographic displays and as part of the foundation of quantum physics with Schrödinger's cat and its box.
OPN FEATURE
Superposition, entanglement and Schrödinger’s Cat
“As quantum computing gets better, we should be able to solve some physics problems theoretically that are intractable now. ”
We know the thought experiment of Schrödinger’s Cat and its famous box, but where do we go from there?
We spoke with 2012 Nobel Laureate in Physics David Wineland and asked about his work in quantum science and his thoughts on the field's future.
RESEARCH NEWS
Pinhole imaging reimagined for next-gen infrared imaging
A traditional pinhole camera works by letting light pass through a tiny hole in a lightproof box, projecting an inverted image of the outside scene onto the opposite surface inside.
Inspired by pinhole imaging, researchers used laser light to form a tiny “optical pinhole” inside a nonlinear crystal, turning the infrared image into a visible image that a traditional silicon-based camera sensor can detect.
With this setup, the researchers captured clear, wide-depth images without using any lenses, even in very low light.
RESEARCH NEWS
Phantom brains thinking outside of the box
"Phantom brains" are cube-shaped objects containing extremely fine, water-filled microchannels the size of individual cranial nerves, which are similar enough to the brain’s white matter to be used for validating and verifying dMRI data analyses.
The phantoms enable nerve structures to be assigned within a model, improving dMRI analyses and overcoming challenges posed by the brain's complex biophysical processes.
OPTICA PUBLISHING GROUP
An expanded eye-box for a full-color see-through near-eye holographic display
One of the major limitations of the large FOV holographic display system is the small eye-box.
To overcome the challenge, researchers created a system based on a holographic optical element to achieve a large FOV while the image light is focused at the entrance to the human pupil.
Achieving 80°, the system provides a new solution for the practical application of augmented reality displays.
IMAGE OF THE WEEK
Optical imaging with a light box
An optical imaging fibre preform, held in resin, is placed on top of a photographic film of dots and back illuminated by a light box.
Here, the short hexagonally stacked rods of glass are each dissimilar to their neighbours, which gives better imaging capabilities inside the final imaging fibre. The three different types of rods in this stack can be seen through the different distortions of the imaged dots.
—Kerrianne Harrington, University of Bath
RESEARCH NEWS
Junk & junction boxes, reducing the waste of solar energy
Solar panels have powered an energy revolution over the past decade to reduce emissions.
However, when solar panels reach the end of their lifespan, they produce waste.
Researchers are developing new ways to recycle solar panels, such as using energy from infrared laser pulses to peel off a cell's seal and recover the materials inside.
