Still-life artists know that to make an image of an object look like the real thing, they must account for the way light reflects off it. The appearance of these glimmers—their color, position and ...

Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story: Researchers have found a way to mimic lightspeed when photographing an object. The method involves stitching together many thin “slices” of light ...

For several centuries now, scientists have known that light behaves like a wave, expanding out from its source until absorbed or reflected by objects, which are in turn illuminated. In recent years, ...

An image printed on reflectance paper responds to the direction from which it is illuminated. The reflectance paper is covered with dimples that reflect light from different directions. See video ...

Holograms. Practically every sci-fi movie and TV show from the last 50 years has some version of this futuristic technology. A realistic 3D object composed of nothing more than light, usually hovering ...

In the movie "Predator," an alien uses a cloaking device to hide in plain sight, but the effect is far from perfect: The alien's attempt to conceal itself is thwarted by distortions of light bending ...

Mirrors are a great way to amplify natural light in a room. By placing mirrors opposite windows or near light sources, they ...

It's probably not realistic to call a supermassive black hole "quiet." But, as far as these things go, the one at the center of our galaxy is pretty quiet. Yes, it emits enough energy that we can ...