Beams of light that can be guided into corkscrew-like shapes called optical vortices are used today in a range of applications. Pushing the limits of structured light, Harvard applied physicists in ...

Learn about the optical rotatum, a newfound structure of light that exhibits a spiral pattern linked with various parts of nature. Patterns exist all around the world, creating unforgettable designs ...

The Fibonacci sequence -- in which each successive number is the sum of its two preceding numbers -- regularly crops up in nature. It describes the number of petals around daisies, how the density of ...

Magnetism is usually taught as a story of straight lines, with field arrows marching neatly from north to south. In a lab at Florida State University, that picture has just been shattered by a new ...

The Whirlpool galaxy (M51) is a classic grand spiral galaxy. It was the first object identified as a spiral, way back in 1845. At the time, it and other galaxies were considered spiral nebulae, since ...