Crystals incorporating a dash of light-absorbing dye can be sliced, etched or embossed by a low-energy laser beam 1. Scientists are constantly seeking new ways to manipulate materials with light.

A 3D printer that uses lasers to build up an object in any order, rather than layer by layer, could produce more advanced designs than is currently possible. Existing 3D printers work by depositing ...

Andrew Iams, a materials research engineer at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), saw something strange while looking through his electron microscope. He was examining a ...