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Scientific gems are having a sparkly moment

Mar 20, 2023
Exotic crystals grown for science and industry that don't make the cut for the lab are being repurposed as jewelry.
Lutetium aluminum garnets, normally used in scientific and medical instruments to detect invisible radiation, have been fashioned into gem stones after being repurposed by Stephen Challener and faceted by Eric Bardawil at House of Sylas.
Eric Bardawil

What to do about all that space junk? Cue the lasers

Oct 5, 2015
For now, we 'watch and hope' that debris in the orbital fast lane won't hit ISS.
GRAPHIC - (CIRCA 1989):  This National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) handout image shows a graphical representation of space debris in low Earth orbit. According to the European Space Agency there are 8,500 objects larger than 10 cm (approximately 3.9 inches) orbiting the earth and 150,000 larger than 1 cm (approximately 0.39 inches).
Photo by NASA/Getty Images

Discovering hidden languages in centuries-old writing

Oct 1, 2014
The technology Michael Toth uses to find treasure in ancient manuscripts.
Pages out of The Archimedes Palimpsest, a medieval parchment manuscript, now consisting of 174 parchment folios.
Drs. Reviel Netz and Nigel Wilson

Using lasers and sensors to catch film bootleggers in action

Nov 28, 2013
Catching bootleggers red handed.

Don't blink

Nov 7, 2011
Taking nipping and tucking to the next level, brown-eyed people are now pointing lasers in their eyes to turn their irises blue. Oh brown-eyed...

You guys you guys you guys: living lasers!

Jun 13, 2011
Scientists have created a laser that is alive (and now God will be too scared of our powers to ever smite us for our insolence!). They isolated a...

For public good, not for profit.

Lasers! On Navy ships! Pew pew!

Apr 12, 2011
You guys! It's all happening. The US Navy has completed a series of successful tests where they hooked up a big laser gun to a ship and then shot...

Scientists build an anti-laser, you guys!

Feb 18, 2011
A team of Yale University scientists have built a device that can absorb a laser beam entirely....