Check out our editors' top news picks for this week, from Laser Focus World and elsewhere.
1. Budget news regarding the National Ignition Facility has not been good as the goal of fusion proves elusive:
2014 laser fusion budgets: Rochester going up, Livermore down
2. Commerical 3D printed firearm components have arrived.
First commercial 3D printed firearm component produced by Sintercore
3. If you think 3D laser additive manufacturing (LAM) has promise, then check the 1800s for some design ideas from the NY Times:
3-D Printing the 19th Century
4. The Mars rover has used photonics for doing great research--here's a summary of its first year from National Geographic:
Mars Curiosity Milestone: Top 5 First-Year Discoveries
5. Galileo and his telescope technology--who could resist this article in MIT Technology Review?
Galileo’s Secret Telescope Technology Revealed