Tractor Beam From Star Trek Becomes A Reality - Dundee Research
@abrakadabra
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Oct 26, 2024
Oct 26, 2024
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Tractor Beam has become a reality. Straight from science fiction into the labs of a team of researchers from University of Dundee, UK and Southampton and Illinois Wesleyan, the dream of a fully functioning acoustic tractor beam has been realized. For the uninitiated, the term "Tractor Beam" was coined by E. E. Smith in his novel Spacehounds of IPC published in 1931. It was said to be a device that has the ability attract one object to another from a distance. The concept was much later popularized by its appearance in the sci-fi classic movies - Star Wars and Star Trek.
Using the energy from an ultrasound array, the research team applied force behind an object and pulled it towards the energy source. The ingenuity of this project lies in the fact that this is the first time that a tractor beam has been used to move anything bigger than microscopic targets. In their demonstration, the researchers showed how it was possible to use twin beams of energy emitted from an ultrasound array (used in MRI-guided surgery) to exert sufficient force on an object around 1 cm in size to hold or move it.
Even if the geeks among us are going to love this technology to its core, the researchers stress on the point that their work has important advantages that can be of use in developing ultrasound-based clinical techniques in the healthcare domain.
If you thought that was all, wait till you read what these researchers have previously achieved. They have demonstrated how the same ultrasound array technique can be used to build the ultra-famous Dr. Who’s Sonic Screwdriver – the ultimate lockpick device that could do everything from medical scans to tracking alien life to controlling the properties of atoms and molecules on a small scale in the famous British sitcom. All kinds of cool.
What are your thoughts on the new tractor beam tech? Share with us in comments below.
Source: #-Link-Snipped-# Image Credit: #-Link-Snipped-#
Using the energy from an ultrasound array, the research team applied force behind an object and pulled it towards the energy source. The ingenuity of this project lies in the fact that this is the first time that a tractor beam has been used to move anything bigger than microscopic targets. In their demonstration, the researchers showed how it was possible to use twin beams of energy emitted from an ultrasound array (used in MRI-guided surgery) to exert sufficient force on an object around 1 cm in size to hold or move it.
Even if the geeks among us are going to love this technology to its core, the researchers stress on the point that their work has important advantages that can be of use in developing ultrasound-based clinical techniques in the healthcare domain.
If you thought that was all, wait till you read what these researchers have previously achieved. They have demonstrated how the same ultrasound array technique can be used to build the ultra-famous Dr. Who’s Sonic Screwdriver – the ultimate lockpick device that could do everything from medical scans to tracking alien life to controlling the properties of atoms and molecules on a small scale in the famous British sitcom. All kinds of cool.
What are your thoughts on the new tractor beam tech? Share with us in comments below.
Source: #-Link-Snipped-# Image Credit: #-Link-Snipped-#
