Okay, that may be overstating it just a bit. But Australian scientists claim to have moved small particles five feet using only light:
Link via Popular Science | Image: Paramount
The device works by shining a hollow laser beam around tiny glass particles. The air surrounding the particle heats up, while the dark center of the beam stays cool. When the particle starts to drift out of the middle and into the bright laser beam, the force of heated air molecules bouncing around and hitting the particle's surface is enough to nudge it back to the center.
A small amount of light also seeps into the darker middle part of the beam, heating the air on one side of the particle and pushing it along the length of the laser beam. If another such laser is lined up on the opposite side of the beam, the speed and direction the particle moves can be easily manipulated by changing the brightness of the beams.
Link via Popular Science | Image: Paramount
Comments (2)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_tweezers
http://www.physorg.com/news203058163.html
Great facts too, quite interesting.
--TwoDragons
The astronaut who set a new record for the number of space walks is an African American male, a detail everyone appears to be trying to keep under wraps.
The very first Afrian-American astronaut is Guion Bluford, who flew on the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1983.
Frankly, I wouldn't give a wet slap what color he was, I'm impressed with his merits as an astronaut.
Sheesh.
--TwoDragons
Tony