News Astronomy

Tiny sphere bends light like a black hole does

Previously seen at the megascale, gravitational lensing goes micro

BEND IT LIKE A BLACK HOLE  A beam of light curves around a glass sphere embedded in plastic. Light making a close encounter with a black hole would take a similar path.

C. Sheng ET AL/Nature Photonics 2013

By Andrew Grant

- More than 2 years ago

Light rays bend around a microscopic sphere just as they would around a gargantuan black hole thanks to a new chip-sized device.