The
theory is uncomplicated and what we are seeing is proof of concept
using ultrasound and other easily manipulated fields. When we
finally master real gravitational effects, it will by easy to produce
a high strength tractor beam.
Such a
deice will be obviously useful and the fact is that we have not even
begun to think about it at all.
Whether
we can use it to run an effective elevator remains to be seen. That
would entail been able to enter a vertical tube and rise or drop at a
steady state to a safe arrival point. It should also be possible.
Star Trek-style 'tractor beam'
created at university
Tractor
beams had previously been more common in science fiction programmes
like Star Trek
Scientists
at Dundee University have created a working "tractor beam".
Normally
the stuff of science fiction in Star Trek or Star Wars, physicists at
the university used an ultrasound array to exert force on an object
and pull it towards the energy source.
They
say it is the first time such a beam has been used to move anything
bigger than microscopic targets.
The
technology could be put to use in medicine, helping to develop
ultrasound-based clinical techniques.
Dundee
researchers worked alongside colleagues in Southampton and Illinois
on the project, the results of which have been published in the
scientific journal Physical Review Letters.
In
another sci-fi inspired project, the same team from the university's
Institute for Medical Science and Technology (Imsat) created a Doctor
Who-style "sonic screwdriver", also using ultrasound.
\
Ultrasound
device
"This
is the first time anyone has demonstrated a working acoustic tractor
beam and the first time such a beam has been used to move anything
bigger than microscopic targets," said Dr Christine Demore of
Imsat.
"We
were able to show that you could exert sufficient force on an object
around one centimetre in size to hold or move it, by directing twin
beams of energy from the ultrasound array towards the back of the
object."
The
team used an ultrasound device that is already clinically approved
for use in MRI-guided surgery.
The
team's work was
carried out as part of a £3.6m programme initiated by the
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, combining
expertise at four UK universities in Bristol, Dundee, Glasgow and
Southampton with industrial firms.
Professor
Sandy Cochran, of the University of Dundee, said: "Our
partnership with industry has been vital to developing devices and
capabilities that are delivering unprecedented sophistication in the
field of ultrasound."
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