Q: What are diffraction gratings? A diffraction grating is an optical component for spectroscopy that splits light into different wavelengths. A typical diffraction grating has thousands of grooves ...

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a method for the production of wavy surfaces with nanometer precision. In the future this method could be used, for instance, to make optical components for ...

When we hear spectrometer, we usually think of some piece of high-end test equipment sitting in a CSI lab. Sure, a hacker could make one if he or she put their mind to it. But make one out of a webcam ...

Arrays of thousands of tiny "super prisms" controlled by robotic muscles could bring real colour to TV screens for the first time, scientists say. The devices, known as electrically tunable ...

Modern Canadian plastic money (specifically the Frontiers series) has a diffractive element in it as a security feature. When a laser beam shines through the maple leaf on the bill, it produces a ...