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A specially sculpted laser beam created this photorealistic image of a cat From the researcher: The whole image in the camera (CCD), showing the edges of the (Gaussian) beam, where the dark rectangle background (around the cat) shows the edges of the target image we used to imprint the phase. It is easy to notice it, because it is slightly misaligned with the CCD pixels.

Scientists made a laser beam shaped like a photorealistic cat

6 May 2022

Laser beams normally take the shape of a dot, but by manipulating light with liquid crystals, researchers have bent one into the shape of a photo of a cat
View of the four-person team?s field camp on the Whillans Ice Stream, West Antarctica with the Transantarctic Mountains in the background.

Vast reservoir of water discovered under the ice in Antarctica

5 May 2022

Ice streams in Antarctica carry ice from the continent’s centre to the ocean, and there appears to be a huge amount of water buried beneath one, which may affect its flow

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