Look on the bright side – which side is that again?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Modern technologies use light to carry messages. Devices often need multiple layers, some to reflect light and others to transmit it. What if one material could do both?
Enter Georgy Ermolaev at XPANCEO in Dubai and team at the University of Manchester.
In the lab, they studied a material called molybdenum oxydichloride by shining light one way, then sideways.
And? Light reflects one way and passes through the other. Better yet, the material squeezes light into tiny spaces. That could make faster computers, thinner glasses, and even smart contact lenses.
Talk about seeing things in a whole new light!
Ermolaev, G., Toksumakov, A., Slavich, A., Minnekhanov, A., Tselikov, G., Mazitov, A., Kruglov, I., Tikhonowski, G., Mironov, M., Radko, I. P., Grudinin, D., Fradkin, I., Vyshnevyy, A., Sofer, Z., Arsenin, A., Novoselov, K. S., & Volkov, V. (2026). Giant optical anisotropy and visible-frequency epsilon-near-zero in hyperbolic van der Waals MoOCl₂. Nano Letters, 26(10), 4329–4338. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c06153