Bessel Beam 'Tractor Beam' Concept Theoretically Demonstrated 54
Posted
by
Soulskill
from the finally-asked-wil-wheaton-for-help dept.
from the finally-asked-wil-wheaton-for-help dept.
cylonlover writes "Last year, NASA revealed it was evaluating three potential 'tractor beam' technologies to deliver planetary or atmospheric particles to a robotic rover or orbiting spacecraft. At the time, the third of these, which involved the use of a Bessel beam, only existed on paper. Researchers at Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) have now proven the theory behind the concept, demonstrating how a tractor beam can be realized in the real world – albeit on a very small scale (abstract)."
impossible to create (Score:5, Interesting)
From the article:
While true Bessel beams are impossible to create, as they would require an infinite amount of energy, ...
This would seem like a good reason not to use them, even in a government project.