This Week in Physics — Air Waveguide from “Donut” Laser Beams

This Week in Physics Magazine — January 23, 2023 Viewpoint Air Waveguide from "Donut" Laser Beams Ya Cheng – January 23, 2023 A waveguide sculpted in air with lasers transmits light over a distance of nearly 50 meters, which is 60 times farther than previous air-waveguide schemes. Research News A Laser-Based "Lightning Rod" January 23, 2023 Experiments on a Swiss mountain demonstrate that a high-powered laser can influence the trajectory of lightning strikes—a step toward laser-based lightning protection. Focus Sound Waves Mimic Gravity January 20, 2023 A recently discovered acoustic effect allows a hot gas to simulate the gravity-induced convection within a star or giant planet. Research News Massive Star Formation Displays Self-Control January 19, 2023 New observations of a stellar nursery highlight a self-regulation mechanism that appears to resolve discrepancies between simulated and observed efficiencies of star formation. synopsis No-Show for Cosmic-Ray-Boosted, Lightweight Dark Matter January 18, 2023 Interactions with cosmic rays could make low-mass dark matter particles detectable by neutrino observatories. But an analysis of two decades' worth of data shows no signs of the particles. synopsis A Nonlinear Cavity Cools a Cantilever January 17, 2023 Photons in a nonlinear cavity perform "negative" work on a mechanical oscillator, cooling it toward its ground state. synopsis A Salt-Based Laser Color Converter January 19, 2023 Artificial salts that are liquid at room temperature can be used to efficiently tune the wavelength of a laser source. 1 Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740 © 2023 American Physical Society | All rights reserved View Email Online You are receiving this message because you signed up to receive Physics Magazine email alerts or are a member of APS. Manage Email Preferences.