Scientists made a laser beam formed like a photorealistic cat

Laser beams usually take the form of a dot, however by trapping gentle with liquid crystals, researchers have bent one into the form of a photograph of a cat

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.

A specifically sculpted laser beam created this photorealistic picture of a cat

P. Silva and S. Muniz

Researchers have encoded an image of a cat right into a single laser beam, demonstrating a easy system that may create detailed photographs inside a beam of sunshine. This system might be used to extra precisely manipulate ultra-cold atoms, that are used to carry out simulations of quantum results.

To entice a cloud of ultra-cold atoms, so as to manipulate them, you must create what physicists name a possible – primarily a field that holds the atoms in place. …