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.
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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.”
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
