How Nanoscale Optics Create Nature's Most Dazzling Colors


This Giant Rainbow Was Made With Tech That's Used To Study Exoplanets

It's not very often that the fields of advanced photonics and installation art meet. But in Amsterdam this week, visitors to the city's Central Station are getting a look at what happens when liquid crystal optic technology is used to something completely unscientific: Make public art. » 12/16/14 9:00am 12/16/14 9:00am

This Bizarre Looking Device Lets You Draw How Your Eyes Actually See

If walk through the square in front of the Flatiron Building this week, you'll see an odd sight: Someone with their head strapped into what looks like some sort of medieval brain control device. It's actually just Trevor or Ryan Oakes, artists (and twins) who invented a drawing tool that applies simple mathematics to… » 5/28/14 4:00pm 5/28/14 4:00pm

Galileo Was Even Smarter Than We Thought

Galileo is perhaps best known as the guy who proved Copernicus right about the sun sitting in the center of our solar system. But this proof would have been impossible without the improvements Galileo made to the telescope, which allowed him to see into the world beyond our planet like never before. And it turns out… » 8/05/13 6:34pm 8/05/13 6:34pm

These Stabilized Binoculars Compensate for 98 Percent of Your Shakes…

Adapting its military-grade gear for the consumer market, Fraser-Volpe's STEDI-EYE Mariner binoculars promise to remove up to 98 percent of unwanted motion from shaky hands, or vibrations from a moving vehicle. It's weatherproof and packs night vision too, making it an uber-expensive accessory for serious bird… » 10/02/12 12:40pm 10/02/12 12:40pm

This Tiny Telescope Implant Gives Eyesight to the Blind


15 Ophthalmological Marvels That Make Your Eyesight as Clear as Your…

They may look as ridiculous as they sound but Phoropters are essential eye-doctoring devices. These overgrown binoculars have helped optometrists measure an individual's refractive error, more commonly known as your eyeglass prescription, since the 19th Century. Our friends at Oobject have collected the very best… » 9/21/12 1:40pm 9/21/12 1:40pm