Have you ever lazily wished you could just use a tractor beam to grab that out-of-reach object? Apparently, you can. Using only light, Australian researchers say they are able to move small particles almost 1.5m through the air.
It’s more than 100 times the distance achieved by existing optical “tweezers”, the researchers say.
Not quite a simple grabby tractor beam, the new system works by shining a hollow laser beam at an object and taking advantage of air temperature differences to move it around.
Moving objects with powerful light is not new – researchers have long been using optical tweezers to pluck bacteria-sized particles and move them a few millimetres. The US Secretary of Energy Steven Chu won his Nobel Prize for work with optical tweezers. But Andrei Rhode and colleagues at the Australian National University say their new laser device can move glass objects hundreds of times bigger than bacteria and shove them a metre and a half or more. Rhode says the 1.5m limit was only because of the size of the table where he placed his lasers – he thinks he can move objects up to 10m.
It works by shining a hollow laser beam around small glass particles, as Inside Science explains. The air around the particle heats up, but the hollow centre of the beam stays cool. The heated air molecules keep the object balanced in the dark centre. But a small amount of light sneaks into the hollow, warming the air on one side of the object and nudging it along the length of the laser beam. Researchers can change the speed and direction of the glass object by changing the lasers’ brightness.
The system needs heated air or gas to work, so in its present incarnation it wouldn’t work in space – sorry, Star Wars fans. But it could be used for a variety of purposes on Earth, like biological research or movement of hazardous materials.
cleverclogs
Thursday, September 9, 2010 at 12:13 PMWheyhey Wesley Crusher’s personal tractor beam!
Paladin
Thursday, September 9, 2010 at 7:19 PMIn the real world, like on a farm, for instance, if you have a large tree stump that is too big for your tractor to move, you just get a bigger tractor. So, wouldn’t it make sense to make this tractor beam, this hollow laser light, hotter and bigger so it could move larger objects farther? At least big enough to get a beer from the fridge to bring it to the den so I could give my dog a break?
Ernest
Friday, September 10, 2010 at 5:45 AMEverything is baby steps. Invention is like nature it takes a while to get to that level. Just the news that they can do what they did so far is a feat in itself.
Steve
Monday, September 13, 2010 at 2:03 PMwha? the news was a feat?
Bobbert
Friday, September 10, 2010 at 2:22 PMThe larger the object or the further the distance to be moved, the more heat must be generated. This heat becomes a crippling effect at a certain range by damaging the object in question.
rico
Friday, September 10, 2010 at 5:56 AMFor space… Maybe use another (outer) ring of light concentrated to hold in O2 molicules between inner and outer rings and then pump the O2 molicules between the two rings. Reaction with vacuum of space and warm center could perhaps hold object (romulan ship for example) in hollow center core. Good job Austrailia!!!! Our Scientists are too busy securing stimulus dollars to fund stuff like determining if alcohol adversly effects a college students grade point average.
Kevin
Friday, September 10, 2010 at 12:01 PMI can see how it might be deadly in a war zone.
Move some thing deadly at chemical level to sniff out the enemy.
nick M
Friday, September 10, 2010 at 12:49 PM… and it wasn’t that long ago that all phones had cords, and televisions were large boxes that only provided a picture in shades of black and white. Where this will lead can only be guessed, but it’s sure good to be alive to watch all of this unfold! I have a heart that functions at about 24%. maybe some day the docs can fix it with some of this new technology!
Mike
Friday, September 10, 2010 at 11:24 PMStar Wars fans? Doesn’t he mean Star Trek !! ??