NEWS SERVICE HOME
A Duke University professor and his graduate student have discovered a universal principle that unites the curious interplay of light and shadow on the surface of your morning coffee with the way gravity magnifies and distorts light from distant galaxies. They think scientists will be able to use violations of this principle to map unseen clumps of dark matter in the universe. Light rays naturally reflect off a curve like the inside surface of a coffee cup in a curving, ivy leaf pattern that comes to a point in the center and is brightest along its edge. Caustics also show up in gravitational lensing, a phenomenon caused by galaxies so massive that their gravity bends and distorts light from more distant galaxies.
Science of Speed: Car Safety
"Two-handed" Marine Microbes Point to New Method for Isolating Harmful Forms of Chemicals
Decline in Greenhouse Gas Emissions Would Reduce Sea-level Rise, Save Arctic Sea Ice
People's Misperceptions Cloud Their Understanding of Rainy Weather Forecasts
Science Blogs
- David Dobbs
A "Video Game" to Reduce Aggression
Not Exactly Rocket Science
- Ed Yong
How Inbreeding Killed Off a Line of Kings
Not Exactly Rocket Science
- Ed Yong
Flies Get the Buzz on Sexy Mates From Each Other
Bookmark & Share
Images and multimedia on this Web site are subject to copyright.
For permissions and rights-related questions, please email
editor@science360.gov