Researchers Create Real Tractor Beams 111
Gadgetank writes "Researchers out of the Australian National University have created a device, working in conjunction with other necessary devices, that can literally move small particles with light. And only light. The way it works is by shining a hollow laser beam around some tiny glass particles. The researchers heat the air around the particles, and therefore cause the dark center of the beam to remain cool."
not a real tractor beam (Score:5, Informative)
Re:not a real tractor beam (Score:5, Funny)
Re:not a real tractor beam (Score:5, Informative)
Quoth wikipedia (from the "Optical Tweezers" article:
Optical tweezers (originally called "single-beam gradient force trap") is a scientific instrument that uses a highly focused laser beam to provide an attractive or repulsive force (typically on the order of piconewtons), depending on the refractive index mismatch to physically hold and move microscopic dielectric objects. Optical tweezers have been particularly successful in studying a variety of biological systems in recent years.
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So does that mean this new method works on a different principle?
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Quoth wikipedia (from the "Optical Tweezers" article:
Optical tweezers (originally called "single-beam gradient force trap") is a scientific instrument that uses a highly focused laser beam to provide an attractive or repulsive force (typically on the order of piconewtons), depending on the refractive index mismatch to physically hold and move microscopic dielectric objects. Optical tweezers have been particularly successful in studying a variety of biological systems in recent years.
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So does that mean this new method works on a different principle?
I don't think I've ever seen a tractor push anything; only pull. So if these beams really can provide a force in either direction, I vote we call them tugboat beams instead.
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I vote we call them tugboat beams instead.
That's a pretty great idea, actually. I second this!
It's certainly much better than my idea of renaming tractors "uni-directional laser tweezer trucks"
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Dozerbeam.
That, for me, is a winner!
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I don't think I've ever seen a tractor push anything; only pull. So if these beams really can provide a force in either direction, I vote we call them tugboat beams instead.
Ain't the English language a funny thing? Tugboats push instead of tug/pull. People park in driveways. And so on.
I think the only way we'll ever see a real tractor beam is the day we can control gravitons (I'm still not convinced they are real particles, although I was pleasantly surprised when I started seeing them mentioned more in recent documentaries). If we could somehow create focused graviton beams, then we'd have a real tractor beam.
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Ain't the English language a funny thing? Tugboats push instead of tug/pull. People park in driveways. And so on.
Not really, no. Tugboats primarily pull, although they can also push. And a driveway is a path which you drive on in order to reach the house. You could park your car on a driving-range, too, but that wouldn't make the name inappropriate.
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You're right, I didn't mean to come across so harsh. Actually, I originally had another paragraph in there that was intended as a joke, but took it out because I didn't think it was funny enough. Seems that the rest of it came across a lot more asshole-ish once all the humor was removed.
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You're right
Wait a second. He told you to mellow out and that you were coming across like an arrogant prick and you agreed with him? Clearly you have no idea how the Internet works. The correct response in that situation is "UP YOURS PAL! I'M GONNA FIND YOU AND BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN!!!!!111".
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Wait a second. He told you to mellow out and that you were coming across like an arrogant prick and you agreed with him? Clearly you have no idea how the Internet works. The correct response in that situation is "UP YOURS PAL! I'M GONNA FIND YOU AND BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN!!!!!111".
Ah, but I'm using reverse psychology. Agreeing is the new disagreeing. He's probably PISSED right now ;)
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You park on a driveway, you drive on a parkway.
If you send something by truck it's a shipment. If you send it by ship it's cargo.
English is weird.
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I think it's more likely cultural difference. American English seems to have minor differences in the meanings of words.
I know as far as a driveway, most everyone here doesn't really have one. It's more like parking spaces. But we call them driveway's anyways.
I'm surprised I started this whole discussion. I was actually just alluding to some jokes by one or two popular American comedians. It's been repeated often enough that I couldn't begin to remember who, but the point of the joke is simply that Eng
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I know, I've heard those jokes before. I used to find them funny, too, when I was 15. However, as my grasp of the English language improved, they started to seem more and more annoying with every iteration.
If you really think that "English is somewhat backwards compared to most of the world", I'm guessing you don't speak any other languages. ANY language can be made to seem ridiculous if you're willing to intentionally misinterpret / misrepresent certain words, and many don't need you to do even that muc
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Tugboats: funny thing is that can pull or push depending on the needs
Most river tug's are barge pushers
most harbor tugs push vessels, the only time I see that not true on the Hudson river is when it's a fuel barge that is empty.
ocean going tug's pull a vessel
from what little I know, a tug boat is very good at pushing because of the prop design and control
A pulling a vessel does not have that much control.
some newer designed tugs are amazing, they can turn on a dime with amazing amounts of force to applied.
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I've seen tractors with snowplows.
They PUSH snow.
btw, even though tugboats sometimes pushes, "tug" means pull. "Tug of war" as an example.
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Tractors have front loader attachments to them. Which they use to push stuff
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so they wouldnt even work in space? no atmosphere. pshh
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If I shine a beam of light on something that causes it to move towards me, it's a tractor beam.
Re:not a real tractor beam (Score:4, Funny)
Re:not a real tractor beam (Score:4, Insightful)
So when a deer in the road moves toward me because I shine my headlights down the road, my headlights are attractor beam?
There, fixed it for you.
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Dupe post in a dupe article
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Echolocation (Score:5, Informative)
"seems like only yesterday..."
http://science.slashdot.org/story/10/09/08/1558201/Tractor-Beams-Come-To-Life [slashdot.org]
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Apparently they are able to push stories with this magical device as well.
Re:Echolocation (Score:5, Insightful)
This story is a reflection caused by bouncing the other story from a mirror using hollow laser beams.
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Catpain, it appears that we've been warped into a future dimension, on in which this article has already appeared! We must find a nuclear wessle immediately!
Re:Echolocation (Score:5, Funny)
The hands (Score:2)
Trust me, you don't want to know what EITHER of Cowboyneal's hands are doing at any given time...
Not terribly novel (Score:4, Informative)
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Crooks radiometer has been getting pushed around by light since 1873!
In related news (Score:4, Funny)
Pfft (Score:5, Funny)
Wouldn't work in a vacuum, less space than a nomad. Lame.
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Tractor beam? Hardly (Score:2)
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You should seriously consider losing some weight.
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Well, that's the damn point. I can't afford to lose weight until we have a working tractor beam, lest I lose all chances of physical contact with members of the opposite sex.
Although I suppose if I lost enough weight I could simply find some who are large enough to not outrun me, or I could even get swept into their gravitational pull. But I kind of prefer being the Jabba to their Leia.
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But I kind of prefer being the Jabba to their Leia.
Careful, erotic asphyxiation is highly dangerous.
Re:Tractor beam? Hardly (Score:4, Funny)
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So you're saying that if I could project my stench *behind* my target, it would propel them towards me?
Interesting. And as you say, if they try escaping out the sides, that would just put them into orbit (provided I can move my stench projection as needed).
Interesting. You have given me much to ruminate on.
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All hat and no cattle.
OMG (Score:4, Funny)
It worked so well that moving the particles caused the news about them to be duped http://tech.slashdot.org/index2.pl?fhfilter=Tractor+Beams [slashdot.org] They call it the Dupification Effect.
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It worked so well it sent the news back into the past! That's incredible!
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It worked so well that moving the particles caused the news about them to be duped http://tech.slashdot.org/index2.pl?fhfilter=Tractor+Beams [slashdot.org] They call it the Dupification Effect.
Apparently the Slashdot editors are caught in a tractor beam.
They're at full power; they're going to have to shut down.
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Pfft. (Score:2)
Oh yeah, dupe.
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1780946&cid=33509648 [slashdot.org]
Similar to Yesterday? (Score:2)
/. Creates Deja Vu machine (Score:2)
This has gotten ridiculous... (Score:5, Funny)
When I think SEO backlinking... I think this.
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inspiring such acknowledgement doesn't help, how?
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Then the site gets hacked because of a buffer overflow exploit.
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Next thing, I'll be waking up to hear the same damn song at the same time every morning. In a small bed & breakfast in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.
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For further information please see this article about Wikipedia [wikipedia.org]. Also try Googling recursion.
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For further information please see this article about Wikipedia.
Wasn't all of that information on Wikipedia's Wikipedia page original research written by Wikipedia? That article should be deleted for being non-notable, and original research.
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We can't disrupt the timeline or the universe will implode!
(Or worse - cats and dogs living together, Sarah Palin will become president - MASS HYSTERIA!)
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Dupe (Score:2)
Until the bacterium reroute the main power conduits through the deflector beam to create an inverse tachyon pulse. Then what?
Slashdot need a new flag... (Score:1)
Yesterday's News (from Gizmodo)
Well to do this right -- (Score:2)
It works! (Score:2)
I aimed it at yesterdays posting [slashdot.org] of this story and here it is, still hanging around!
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/. uses a variety of symbols to indicate what each story is about. Does the fact that Bill Gates doesn't work at Microsoft any more, nor was he ever assimilated into a borg mean that they shouldn't use that symbol? Further more, military technology has come a long way since roman times, the earth doesn't cast a shadow, software doesn't always come on CDs, there's more to space than Saturn and whatever other planet that is, Robots don't usually look like the goofy one in the symbol, and crime often doesn't i
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Yes.
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Time Travel (Score:3, Funny)
Damnit....I warned them that this would disrupt the space time continuum.
Those fools had to go ahead and do it anyways.
And now look what's happened...we're caught in a loop [slashdot.org]!
Right, this seems as good a time as any (Score:1, Offtopic)
What's happened to the Slashdot tagging system? Why can't I click the little triangle to add new tags to an article anymore? Are only editors allowed to tag articles these days?
And why the hell hasn't anyone marked this one 'dupe'?
When tags were first introduced I saw a massive drop in the rate of duplicate articles that made it past the firehose (was it even called 'firehose' back then? I don't remember)
re: dupes (Score:1, Offtopic)
You know what though? Slashdot has gotten really good about dupes. Remember how it was kind of a running joke, and then for a while a couple years ago it got really bad? Now, this one is, I think, the second or third dupe I've seen in a year. Congrats to the staff for fixing at least one part of our beloved Slashdot.
Now if you'l excuse me, I'm off to copy some +5 comments from yesterday's thread. :-)
Not tractor but (Score:2)
If it isn't pulling, it should be a bulldozer beam if we're keeping the analogies straight.
I can't help but think how loud the Klingons would laugh at us if the Enterprise tried to use this, as there is no air to heat in space like the bulldozer beam needs.
Only light? (Score:2)