A real-life "tractor beam", which uses light to attract objects, has been developed by scientists.It is hoped it could have medical applications by targeting and attracting individual cells.The research, published in Nature Photonics and led by the University of St Andrews, is limited to moving microscopic particles.In science fiction programmes such as Star Trek, tractor beams are used to move much more massive objects.It is not the first time science has aimed to replicate the feat - albeit at smaller scales.In 2011, researchers from China and Hong Kong showed how it might be done with laser beams of a specific shape - and the US space agency Nasa has even funded a study to examine how the technique might help with manipulating samples in space.The new study's lead researcher Dr Tomas Cizmar, research fellow in the School of Medicine at the University of St Andrews, said while the technique is very new, it had huge potential.He said: "The practical applications could be very great, very exciting. The tractor beam is very selective in the properties of the particles it acts on, so you could pick up specific particles in a mixture.""Eventually this could be used to separate white blood cells, for example."Usually when microscopic objects are hit by a beam of light, they are forced along the direction of the beam by the light photons. That radiation force was first identified by the German astronomer Johannes Kepler in 1619 when he observed that tails of comets always point away from the Sun.Dr Cizmar's team's technique allows for that force to be reversed which he said some people might find counter-intuitive."It's surprising," he said. "Only when we looked in detail at the process did we see the reversal. It's quite a narrow field it occurs at."Full Article with Photos @http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-21187598

You need to be a member of Ashtar Command - Spiritual Community to add comments!

Join Ashtar Command - Spiritual Community

Email me when people reply –

Topics by Tags

Monthly Archives

Latest Activity

AlternateEarth left a comment on Comment Wall
"That sounds like a good vid"
23 minutes ago
Drekx Omega left a comment on Comment Wall
"I really enjoy Gregg Braden's lectures....and wanted to share this with AC.....He uses logic, reason and intuition, all at once...Something I also seek to cultivate in my own approach to solving ancient mysteries...when I'm not gleaning direct…"
4 hours ago
AlternateEarth left a comment on Comment Wall
"here's a site AC members may also like
https://unherd.com/"
6 hours ago
AlternateEarth left a comment on Comment Wall
"There are more Europeans in the Princeton area, it seems, always been because of the university but now I think they're refugees from the rapists and murderers"
7 hours ago
Love & Joy posted a discussion
   Do Not Waste This OpportunityThe Great Council Of The Grandmothers We have called you because you have work to do,” the Grandmothers saidwhen I asked what they wanted to share in their next newsletter. “It is simple,”they said. “Send this message…
11 hours ago
Drekx Omega left a comment on Comment Wall
"Spiritual technology is organic and multi-dimensional....as human DNA/RNA is and linked inter-dimensionally....In fact, DNA is a fractal antenna, linked to our whole selves and the universe, as well, which we are parts of.....a universal net of…"
12 hours ago
Love & Joy posted a discussion
...
12 hours ago
Love & Joy posted a discussion
    A Vision for Gratitude   We see world where our gratitude shines forth, like a beautiful, priceless gem; where we are joyful for all of the good things that come to us, and where we are equally joyful for all the adversity that presents itself…
13 hours ago
More…