Scientists at the California Institute of Technology have taken a major step toward developing lightsails that could one day ...

The idea of a lightsail comes from the fact that radiation pressure represents a mechanical pressure acting on a surface due ...

Powered by laser light, this tiny sail lays the groundwork for future advances in lightsail technology and the potential for ...

Caltech researchers develop a platform to characterize ultrathin membranes for lightsails, advancing the quest for ...

The initiative aims to use high-power lasers to accelerate small space probes equipped with lightsails to relativistic speeds, with the goal of reaching Alpha Centauri, the nearest star system.

Sailing has been a mainstay of human history for millennia, so it's no surprise that scientists would apply it to traveling ...

Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) -- commonly known as bad cholesterol -- have long been on scientists' radar as a major contributor to heart disease. But these microscopic troublemakers have hidden ...

Sailing has been a mainstay of human history for millennia, so it's no surprise that scientists would apply it to traveling in space. Solar sailing, the most common version, uses pressure from the ...