Scientists discover that light, under certain conditions, can move around objects like a frictionless liquid, which could help improve a wide array of devices like lasers and solar panels.

Just like how gravity can affect the path of regular objects, light rays can be deflected by objects with very large mass. When does gravitational lensing occur?

That light can have this unexpected lift effect started with a very simple question, Swartzlander says: “If we have something in the shape of a wing and we shine light through it, what happens ...

Can light itself cast a shadow? It may sound like a philosophical riddle, but researchers have found that under certain conditions, a laser beam can act like an opaque object and cast a shadow.

Another effect, called length contraction, makes fast-moving objects appear shorter to observers. “Imagine a rocket flying past at 90% the speed of light,” said Peter Schattschneider from TU Wien.

If light bends around massive objects, does it only work for really large objects, or can smaller bodies like planets also bend light?

In fact, French scientists recently announced they've found a way to manipulate light in such a way that a tiny, opaque object looks entirely transparent to the human eye.

Photons move far too fast to orbit planets or even stars. There is, however, a stellar object so massive that it bends space enough to pull photons into orbit: a black hole. You probably knew that ...

The speed of light is usually thought of as a speed limit for how fast an object can travel, but you’re right to also think of it as a speed limit on the transfer of information. If you want an ...

Astronauts see city lights from space, even from the International Space Station. The view of Earth from space can evoke strong emotional responses, called the "overview effect". Visibility of ...