The sunlight beam index

Tasting the Bitter Sunlight

Have you ever had that gut reaction to your surroundings, some physical sensation that something isn’t quite right? Maybe a squirmy, uneasy feeling in your stomach or an acrid taste on your tongue that makes you want to leave the scene? When the nematode C. elegans encounters an offensive sensation—whether a pungent, potentially dangerous odor (such as those associated with fungal parasites), e...

Beam propagation in periodic quadratic-index waveguides.

High-index-contrast grating reflector with beam steering ability for the transmitted beam.

High-index contrast grating mirrors providing wave front control of the transmitted light as well as high reflectivity over a broad bandwidth are suggested and both numerically and experimentally investigated. General design rules to engineer these structures for different applications are derived. Such grating mirrors would have a significant impact on low cost laser fabrication, since a more ...

Sungas Instead of Syngas: Efficient Coproduction of CO and H2 with a Single Beam of Sunlight

The electrolytic coproduction of CO and H2 is achieved from air, water, and a single beam of sunlight rather than from fossil fuels. H2 and CO cosynthesis is driven by a single concentrator photovoltaic to simultaneously drive molten hydroxide and molten carbonate electrolyses. The carbon neutral process captures carbon without the need for the preconcentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Sunlight and Vitamin D

Vitamin D is the sunshine vitamin that has been produced on this earth for more than 500 million years. During exposure to sunlight 7-dehydrocholesterol in the skin absorbs UV B radiation and is converted to previtamin D3 which in turn isomerizes into vitamin D3. Previtamin D3 and vitamin D3 also absorb UV B radiation and are converted into a variety of photoproducts some of which have unique b...