Scientific Method / Science & Exploration

Real-life tractor beam developed at NYU

Beam emits from a single source; only moves microscopic particles now.

Physicists at New York University have demonstrated a micro-tractor beam capable of pushing and pulling molecules.

The system by David B. Ruffner and David G. Grier consists of a set of superimposed Bessel beams—beams which do not spread and are capable of self healing after partial obstruction—which is able to push and pull tiny objects along its length.

According to the project's abstract: "These optical conveyors have periodic intensity variations along their axes that act as highly effective optical traps for micrometer-scale objects."

The duo's tractor beam is closer to the traditional science fiction concept of light-based transportation as it emits from a single source rather than relying on light from opposing points of origin to move the matter up and downstream. It is also reportedly more stable than other options:

"Optical conveyors thus have the potential to out-perform optical tweezers, which cannot always achieve stable axial trapping," state Ruffner and Grier.

While the current offering is only suited for moving microscopic particles, the team are already making suggestions to improve the mini tractor beam including improving speed of transportation by using a brighter conveyor and using higher order conveyors to transport oddly shaped objects.

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18 Reader Comments

  1. Gotta lot of "scaling up" to do! lol
    1263 posts | registered
  2. This is cool! Using bottle beams rather than Bessel will give even better results I think.
    139 posts | registered
  3. I look forward to the day when all farming equipment can be reduced to a beam.
    11038 posts | registered
  4. It's a fricken tractor beam!!
    16 posts | registered
  5. How is this different then conventional Bessel tweezers?
    26293 posts | registered
  6. deanpm wrote:
    It's a fricken tractor beam!!

    First the freak'n sharks will tractor you in, then laser you!
    2902 posts | registered
  7. redleader wrote:
    How is this different then conventional Bessel tweezers?

    It seems that more then one particle may be moved at the same time with just two beams, as it has multiple maxima, from what I grasp of the article, and from what I know of tweezers(little to nothing). That's why it's called an optical conveyor, instead of an optical tweezer.
    31 posts | registered
  8. Love it.
    2710 posts | registered
  9. It is absolutely essential that no one allow Wesley Crusher anywhere near the tractor beam.
    1867 posts | registered
  10. Sounds like there's some scaling *down* to do. A tool for the precise manipulation of nano-scale particles would be one of the next steps to a Neal Stephenson-esque nanotech age.
    25 posts | registered
  11. Reverse the wires! Chase Sandy back into the Atlantic.
    389 posts | registered
  12. It's nice to see coverage from Wired when Ars didn't pick up the story - but I'm really missing the detail that usually appears in the Ars science coverage. How does it work?
    628 posts | registered
  13. I can't wait until we get to gloves with built in tractor beams that allows us to emulate the Star Wars force. Or while we at it, what about Back to the Future hover boards. Or what about tablets with tractor beams that behave like a stand so that we do not have to hold it while using like a keyboard.
    116 posts | registered
  14. Morbo make holes in teeth!
    228 posts | registered
  15. Beam me up, Scotty!
    1143 posts | registered
  16. If this scales up (or down) properly, it could completely revolutionize materials science and electronics design. Chemical Vapor Deposition, if I understand correctly, is kind of a pain in the ass when designing composite materials or "printing" electronic runs on certain boards. Imagine if you could just pull part of the substrate away and replace it with a conductor, or use the beam to manipulate and build nanoscale structures. I'm really looking forward to seeing more about this tech in the coming months.
    164 posts | registered
  17. Physics! Fuck yeah!
    141 posts | registered
  18. NanoAssemblers, here we come!!
    1719 posts | registered

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