Yuki Lee

a disproportionately large nuclear fusion tube containing spherical fuel is shown being hit with lasers, powering a futuristic city.

Powering a Brighter Future with Fusion Ignition

On December 13, 2022, the world of clean energy changed forever with a groundbreaking announcement from the US Department of Energy. Fusion ignition had been achieved for the first time in history on December 5, 2022. Scientists from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) at the US National Ignition Facility successfully achieved one of the largest scientific milestones of the 21st century by producing an excess of energy – even more than they put in.

A half-transparent, shadowy man is attempting to tiptoe away, leaving behind black footprints on a red background. a large eye is looking at him and the light rays that bounce off his figure. Text: Invisibility, hidden in plain sight.

Hidden From Plain Sight: Can Science Create Real-Life Invisibility?

The power of invisibility has been wielded by countless fictional heroes—and many have wondered about bringing that power into the real world. Making the body turn invisible on its own sounds out of the question, but what about instances where characters disappear with the help of special invisibility-granting clothing or covers? Would it be possible to harness technology to invent something similar? Numerous scientists have been diving deep into optics—the study of light—to answer that question.

An illustrated scientist floats amongst giant particles. He observes sine waves illuminated on a holograph. A laser in the background captures rays of light illuminated from the giant particle.

How Tabletop Physics can Uncover Secrets of our Universe

Many of the most awe-inspiring unsolved problems in physics deal with extremes of our universe —from the happenings of subatomic particles to those at the centres of black holes. Some of them tackle whether we can reconcile our existing understandings of these disparate regimes. Could we someday have a unifying theory of the physics of both the smallest and largest scales in the universe?