Latest news with #1.36km
The Sun
26-05-2025
- Science
- The Sun
Terrifying ‘spy' laser that can read text smaller than a grain of rice from a mile away unveiled by China
SCIENTISTS in China claim they have developed a laser that can read millimetre-sized text from nearly a mile away. That's smaller than a grain of rice. 2 2 The researchers say the new laser-based system can pick up small details from 1.36km away (0.85miles) that standard telescopes and binoculars would miss. A typical telescope-based system at the same distance would only capture shapes around 42milimetres in size, researchers wrote in their study, published in the journal Physical Review Letters. That is far too large to make out small writing. Observing fine details from long distances with telescopes and high-power lenses brings its challenges. Current long-distance reading systems require precise alignment of lasers and telescopes, making it tricky to pick out small features. Distortion from the air can blur and scatter light over long distances, which can warp the view. However, researchers took a new approach by on the way light hits a surface, rather than focusing on the image itself. This method is called active intensity interferometry. 'Through outdoor experiments, we have successfully imaged millimeter-scale targets located at 1.36km away," the study authors wrote. "Achieving a resolution enhancement by about 14 times over the diffraction limit of a single telescope." China & Russia will use drones 'the size of insects' to spy on UK & commit untraceable murders, ex-Google futurist warns The researchers believe this method is 'promising for high-resolution optical imaging and sensing'. Although, it also has a few limitations to overcome - for example, it needs a clear line of sight to the object. The target must be illuminated with lasers, so it may not be suitable for surveillance scenarios where stealth is required. Instead, the laser could be used by archaeologists to examine ancient carvings on cliffs without climbing them, and help environmental researchers monitor distant wildlife habitats. The team has plans to improve the control of the laser, so they are easier to direct. The researchers may also install artificial intelligence (AI), which could help reconstruct images more accurately. Artificial Intelligence explained Here's what you need to know Artificial intelligence, also known as AI, is a type of computer software Typically, a computer will do what you tell it to do But artificial intelligence simulates the human mind, and can make its own deductions, inferences or decisions A simple computer might let you set an alarm to wake you up But an AI system might scan your emails, work out that you've got a meeting tomorrow, and then set an alarm and plan a journey for you AI tech is often 'trained' – which means it observes something (potentially even a human) then learns about a task over time For instance, an AI system can be fed thousands of photos of human faces, then generate photos of human faces all on its own Some experts have raised concerns that humans will eventually lose control of super-intelligent AI But the tech world is still divided over whether or not AI tech will eventually kill us all in a Terminator-style apocalypse
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
This Laser Breakthrough Can Read Text on a Page From a Mile Away
Your eyesight might be good enough to confidently read the tiny text at the optometrist from a few meters away. But you're left in the dust by a new device recently demoed by researchers, which was able to scan tiny individual characters of text from a distance of 1.36 kilometers (about 0.85 miles). Intensity interferometry takes a different approach to imaging than conventional cameras: rather than measuring light waves directly, these devices measure the way light reflects and interferes with itself, then compiles an image from that data. A new study, led by researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China, tested an instrument that emits eight infrared laser beams fired across to a specific point in the distance. Then, two telescopes were used to capture the intensity of the light reflections. Through a careful calibration of the eight laser beams lighting up the target, the image can be reconstructed by comparing variations between the readings from the two telescopes. "Through outdoor experiments, we have successfully imaged millimeter-scale targets located at 1.36 km away, achieving a resolution enhancement by about 14 times over the diffraction limit of a single telescope," write the researchers in their published paper. Long range cameras like this have uses everywhere from space telescopes to remote sensors, and the method used here can handle atmospheric turbulence and better manage imperfections in the camera setup. Through the setup described in their new study, the researchers were able to accurately read letters at a resolution of 3 mm. Using just one of the telescopes deployed here on its own, at the same distance, would've resulted in a resolution of 42 mm. That's a big upgrade, and shows the potential of intensity interferometry. First used in space observatories, we're now seeing the tech being used in a variety of ways on Earth, notably in advanced physics experiments. Previously, the approach has been used to spot very bright distant stars, or closer objects that are lit up by a nearby source – so this is a new development. "The application of long-baseline active intensity interferometry holds promise for advancing high-resolution optical imaging and sensing," write the researchers. The way that photons of light bunch together and can be interpreted through this tech is actually a quantum effect that wouldn't be predicted by normal physics, and that's one of the crucial parts of the high resolution here. Further improvements are possible, the researchers say, in the way the infrared laser lights are controlled. There's also scope for adding AI algorithms to the system, to interpret specific text and shapes more accurately. "The new work represents a significant technical advancement in imaging distant objects that do not emit their own light," optics researcher Shaurya Aarav from Sorbonne University in France, who wasn't involved in the research, told Michael Schirber at Physics Magazine. The research has been published in Physical Review Letters. Revolutionary Contact Lenses Let Human Eyes See Invisible Light New AI Weather Tool Outperforms Global Forecasting Centers A Revolutionary New Algorithm Picks Your Biological Age From a Photo
