A photo from open sources Unfortunately, this technology only works in the presence of air – so that we still can not pull to imagine a spaceship in the spirit of Star Trek Of course, this is still very far from the technology of attracting rays of spacecraft in the style Star Trek but optic physicists from the Australian National University (ANU) learned to move objects with a laser beam. The laser beam managed to move a spherical object the size of a fifth part of a millimeter at a distance of 20 cm, which is almost 100 times more, than in previous experiments in this area. Scientists used a hollow laser beam, bright at the edges and dark in the center. Researchers ANU previously developed a similar device that moved very small particles over long distances using optical whirlwind. The whirlwind created the so-called “photophoretic” force, which pushed the particle forward due to controlled pulses photons.
This new method is based on the fact that the energy from the laser beam heats the surrounding air, creating hot spots on one side of the glass shell of a hollow ball. Heat generated pushes air particles to the side, resulting in a tiny the hollow ball moves slightly, moving in the opposite direction. By changing the polarization of the laser beam from the axial (in the form stars) to azimuthal (in the form of a ring), the researchers were able change the direction of movement of the ball or even make it hang in the air.
According to researchers, such a beam can find a wide application in the real world – for example, as a means of control or sampling of atmospheric pollution, which is achievable if the technology will work at a distance of several meters.
A photo from open sources
Dr. Vladlen Shvedov (left) and Dr. Kirill Gnatovsky (on right)
One of the co-authors of the study, Vladlen Shvedov, notes that relatively small range due to low power laser laboratory setup. Another co-author, Weslav Krolikovsky, in a hurry to disappoint a wide audience, indicating that technology works only in the presence of air and in no way brings closer us to technology in the style of Star Trek or games Portal.
Study article published in the journal Nature Photonics
Lasers
