Tractor beam built from rings of laser light

www.newscientist.com...|NSNS|2012-GLOBAL|online-news

Stand aside, Wesley Crusher: there's a new tractor beam on deck that pulls objects using nothing more than laser light. The device has already grabbed NASA's attention as it could one day prove useful on space missions.

It is well known that light can push on objects – this is the basis for using solar sailsMovie Camera to propel a spacecraft. But getting light to pull on something is a bit trickier.

The beginnings of the tractor beam? star trek sure got a lot of things correct (communicators/warp theory etc)
Or is it simply a case of if we can 'Think it' we can eventually find a way of doing it.

David Ruffner and David Grier of New York University instead projected two Bessel beams side by side and used a lens to angle them so that they overlapped, creating a pattern of alternating bright and dark regions.

Fine-tuning the beam caused photons in the bright regions to scatter toward the beam source, pushing a particle in the beam to the next bright region. The beam thus acts like a conveyer belt, constantly drawing the particle toward the source.

"NASA contacted us," says Ruffner. "They were wondering, can we put this on a space probe and get dust from a comet?" It is possible, he says, but not any time soon. "This is still very much in its infancy."

slowly slowly, once a technology is proven to work it is only a matter of time before it can be scaled up , size / effect and power will eventually increase, new technologies will be built, allowing this to happen..

maybe this could even be used to clear all the space junk from earth like a cosmic sweeping brush.. who knows...

reply to post by Quantum_Squirrel


Sounds like this is a quantum tractor beam?

reply to post by Quantum_Squirrel


I'm actually pretty excited about this announcement! Very cool. So the trick is to use light for the tractor beam. Makes the stories of UFO's using bright laser like beams to suck people up into their craft seem a little more legit.

I actually would really like to live in a Star Trek the next generation type of utopia. One step closer mankind. One step closer.

reply to post by BASSPLYR

Makes the stories of UFO's using bright laser like beams to suck people up into their craft seem a little more legit.

I think the power density required to lift a human would render that human rather crispy.

reply to post by Phage


Probably. But if we can figure out how to do this with light. Maybe they have figured a way to do it with a less dangerous particle. I dunno. Hey Phage, if you were to create a tractor beam to lift people what would you use. Particles like this photon tractor doohicky, gravity waves of some sort, or speculative scalar energies. Just wondering. If you were to start researching on how to build a tractor beam where would you start.

Also granted if what people are reporting is real. What do you speculate the beams of light are that people say UFOs often shoot toward the ground. Probing active sensors of some sort. Tractor beams to pick up crew or others. Power conduits to transfer energy to their craft. A weapon? Again just curious to see what your thoughts are.

reply to post by BASSPLYR

Probably. But if we can figure out how to do this with light.

A laser is light and that's how it works, by using the concentrated power within the laser beam.

Hey Phage, if you were to create a tractor beam to lift people what would you use.

Me? A length of Kevlar. I'll leave the fancy stuff to the guys with labs.

reply to post by Phage


You're no fun Phage. Come on speculate a little!!! The weekend is almost here!

Other than Kevlar, say you were trying to go the tractor beam route using anything other than the obvious, what concept would you exploit to build a working tractor beam?

reply to post by BASSPLYR

I'd use a diambient stream discriminator to create a metaquantum containment frame which would create a auto-nucleonic force field. This, combined with some timey wimey stuff, would create an effective tractor beam which would not harm the subject.

That's how I'd do it but I don't' have a lab.

reply to post by Phage


Aww...now you just pulling my leg! No seriously was that some secret device you've been planning on building for a while now and you are keeping it hidden from the world, at least as long as until you get a lab put together. Or was that a mashup of various star trek lines from just about every episode where they "need more power to the tractor beam! La Forge!" Just curious.

reply to post by BASSPLYR

Technobabble generators are very useful devices.
The "timey wimey" part came from Dr. Who.

reply to post by Phage


Ah yeah... I got one of those. As you can see my babble generator works overtime wile I type on ATS. Even got it as an app for my iPhone.

Anyhow, All jokes aside Phage. What do you think could come of this photon tractor beam that would be of any good use. From what I can tell the power required to life things that way anything worth lifting would destroy said objects. So what would you speculate could be a good use for this sort of technology. Or... do you think it's just a neat trick but won't really develop into anything useful in the sense f a tractor beam. Your thoughts?

reply to post by BASSPLYR

Hard to say where any "obscure" techniques can go. Just think about moving very tiny objects around without getting into contact with them. Why would you want to?

The article mentions medical applications. I can imagine applications with developing new materials and coatings. Maybe something with nanotech?

Originally posted by Phage
reply to post by BASSPLYR

 

Hard to say where any "obscure" techniques can go. Just think about moving very tiny objects around without getting into contact with them. Why would you want to?

The article mentions medical applications. I can imagine applications with developing new materials and coatings. Maybe something with nanotech?

What if we could modify this technology to move cargo around? or for factories and industry... , i can think of a few applications Mr Phage if it was scaled up appropriately

Originally posted by Phage
reply to post by BASSPLYR

 

Makes the stories of UFO's using bright laser like beams to suck people up into their craft seem a little more legit.

I think the power density required to lift a human would render that human rather crispy.

Had to laugh at that comment - 'would render that human rather crispy' hehe.

OT
Wait till the cops have 'ray guns' with this beam contraption - cops will zap you senseless, and pull you closer, then fill ya full of lead for advancing toward them.

Just kidding They wouldn't do such a thing, I'm sure.

So reverse it, put enough power to it, and we could have something like anti gravity? That is if it could hold large amounts of weight without destroying anything.

Not a technical guy, probably impossible, but a guy can dream

I'm so bummed we haven't got hover boards yet. Back to the Future 2 was one of my favorites back in the day. Only 3 years to go! Better get cracking scientists!

@doobydoll Nottingham! what a great place to be posting from

Originally posted by cconn487
So reverse it, put enough power to it, and we could have something like anti gravity? That is if it could hold large amounts of weight without destroying anything.

Not a technical guy, probably impossible, but a guy can dream

I'm so bummed we haven't got hover boards yet. Back to the Future 2 was one of my favorites back in the day. Only 3 years to go! Better get cracking scientists!

edit on 19-10-2012 by cconn487 because: (no reason given)

I think more efficient versions of anti gravity already exist , Mag Lev etc as always though they only work at close distances..as would this device reversed and scaled up. For pushing things sonics might be good if not damaging.

I know what gives with the hoverboards! hey you do know the date Marty and doc went to the future recently past?.. did you see them at all?

Originally posted by Quantum_Squirrel

I think more efficient versions of anti gravity already exist ,P

Ya its called the other 3 forces.
lol

Originally posted by Phage
reply to post by BASSPLYR

 

I'd use a diambient stream discriminator to create a metaquantum containment frame which would create a auto-nucleonic force field. This, combined with some timey wimey stuff, would create an effective tractor beam which would not harm the subject.

That's how I'd do it but I don't' have a lab.

edit on 10/19/2012 by Phage because: (no reason given)

Well, you could always ask for higher clearance Phage for that fancy card swipe you got. Or a raise...

I know nothing about this subject but part of me feels it would have to do with electromagnetism if anything..