The most powerful traction beam pulls particles up to 0.2 mm by 20 cm.

Science fiction lovers are well aware of a device that generates a traction beam (tractor beam) for dragging various objects in space. In the Star Trek series, it is used in almost every episode.

As befits a good scientist, modern physicists are trying to implement the ideas described in science fiction. However, in terms of technical characteristics, existing developments still lag far behind NF, but progress is evident.
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Physicists Vladlen Shvedov and Kirill Hnatovsky from the Australian National University (pictured) developed the most powerful traction beam created earlier. Using a laser, the device moves objects up to 200 micrometers at a distance of 20 centimeters - this is a hundred times farther than in all previous experiments.

New technology can be used in different areas, because it requires the use of only one single laser beam. For example, it can be used to control atmospheric pollution or to extract tiny samples that are difficult to isolate by other methods.

Unlike other methods, the new traction beam does not use photon energy directly, but rather heats the particle itself and the environment to stimulate movement. In particular, a “hot” spot is created on the surface of the particle, from which, according to the laws of physics, heated air is repelled, creating cravings in the opposite direction.





Moreover, the authors of scientific work are confident that the device can be increased in size. “Since lasers retain beam quality at long distances, this can work from a distance of meters. Our laboratory is simply not large enough to show this, ”says Dr. Vladlen Shvedov.

Well, physicists need to provide a large laboratory.

The work was published in the journal Nature Photonics.