NASA Begins $100,000 Study on Tractor Beams
- Posted on November 2, 2011 at 6:12pm by
Liz Klimas
- Print »
- Email »
NASA is going to begin a study that evaluates not one, not two, but three methods for making once sci-fi tractor beams into a reality.
But before we all get too excited pulling out our Star Trek reruns to see how the ship is able to pull massive objects toward it using a special laser, NASA comes right out and says it won’t be as exciting as that:
“The original thought was that we could use tractor beams for cleaning up orbital debris,” Principal Investigator Paul Stysley said on NASA’s website. “But to pull something that huge would be almost impossible — at least now. That’s when it bubbled up that perhaps we could use the same approach for sample collection.”
But still an exciting technological move none the less. The researchers hope to determine which technique works best in collecting small amounts of terrestrial samples. One technique is the “optical tweezers” method, which uses two beams to trap the particles. NASA’s news release explains:
The resulting ring-like geometry confines particles to the dark core of the overlapping beams. By alternately strengthening or weakening the intensity of one of the light beams — in effect heating the air around the trapped particle — researchers have shown in laboratory testing that they can move the particle along the ring’s center. This technique, however, requires the presence of an atmosphere.
Another technique uses solenoid beams that relies on electromagnetism and could be used an space without an atmosphere. And the final technique has never been previously tested like the other two: it involves a special kind of laser called a Bessel beam, which creates rings of light around a central dot as opposed an ordinary laser with just one point. Researchers believe that the electric and magnetic fields created could pull an object back toward the laser, against the beam itself.
If you were able to shine a Bessel beam, this is essentially what it would look like.
Watch this hypothetical mission of how tractor beams could be used to collect samples in space:
[H/T Gizmodo]
Comments (21)
Sign In To Post Comments! Sign In
Popular Stories
Does Misstated Marathon Claim Prove Paul Ryan Is Dishonest? (POLL) 707 Comments
Paper Details Obama Admin’s Alleged Secret Note Sent to Iran: If Israel Attacks, We Won’t Get Involved 560 Comments
‘Made Up Religion’: TV Historian Enrages Muslims, Receives Threats After Producing UK Documentary Questioning Islam’s Beginnings 378 Comments
This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 370 Comments
Roseanne Barr: Most Billionaires ‘Violent Pedophiles’ & ‘Heartless’ Cocaine Addicts 363 Comments
Faith
- This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 370 Comments
Pakistani Muslim Cleric Accused of Framing Disabled Christian Girl in Koran-Burning Case Read More- ‘Made Up Religion’: TV Historian Enrages Muslims, Receives Threats After Producing UK Documentary Questioning Islam’s Beginnings 378 Comments
Meet the Controversial German Imam Accused of Brutally Beating His Wife & Pushing Sharia Law Read More
‘Self-Proclaimed Messiah’ & Unification Church Leader the Rev. Sun Myung Moon Has Died — Here’s His Life Story Read More
Business
- President Obama Issues Major ‘Green Energy’ Executive Order 299 Comments
- Germany’s Upcoming Court Ruling Will be Huge for the EU Read More
Ford Looks to Beat Toyota for Best-Selling Car in 2012 With This Model 149 Comments
Bernanke & QE3: Here’s What You Need to Know Read More- ‘Extortion’: Why Did the Labor Department ‘Drop the Hammer’ on Oregon Farmers? 302 Comments
Technology
- This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 370 Comments
‘TaserDrone’: Hackers Weaponize Quadcopter With Actual ‘Shocking’ Technology Read More
Ever Heard of the Wild ‘Burning Man’ Festival in the Middle of the Nev. Desert? Here’s Your Primer Read More
Stanford Develops Technology ‘Better Than Steroids’ for Athlete Recovery Read More
Have You Pretended to Know What ‘the Cloud’ Is? You’re Not Alone Read More
Submitting your tip... please wait!
Indymaverick
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 2:45pmThier next idea will come from the movie Space Balls. Remember when they jammed the bad guys radar? They gave them the raspberry.
Report Post »V-MAN MACE
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 12:09pmGive me 100 grand, and I’ll build an entirely electrical self-recharging vehicle with this device…
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5049315417065623724#
Period.
Report Post »Tired-of-fools
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 2:15pmIf you were to get the 100k to build something to sell to the public such as a recharging car, that would make you a capitolist. And if you made allot of money, would that make you a CAPITOLIST VAMPIRE ROBBER BARON? Or if you did not share your technology, would the Nazis put you in a FEMA camp?
Report Post »JohnnyMidknight
Posted on November 4, 2011 at 3:53pm@ Tired-of-fools
Report Post »[Quote: And if you made allot of money, would that make you a CAPITOLIST VAMPIRE ROBBER BARON?]
Kids, this is where twilight vampires come from! LMAO
BigMG
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 8:29amThese may be goofy ideas at first blush, but these programs can lead to something unexpected and beneficial beyond your imagination. MIT alone is regularly doing goofy things that have helped mankind in countless ways. We need to get back to productive imagination.
Report Post »I would much rather see my tax dollars being spent on people who think and work, than on food stamps and ‘entitlements’ for people with TV’s, loud cars, gold ‘n ink, and a dozen siblings with different last names.
We have lost our vision when we can’t even fund a space bus, let alone send a man to mars.
SamIamTwo
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 8:34amTang? Yes, there are by products that have commercial application but I contend it should be for a much larger focuesed program that would benefit society as a whole.
Like the mother of all solar collection system to concentrate hot beams to burn wackjob butt…commercial application would be something like generating electricity on the cheap.
Report Post »jmcenanly
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 1:38pmThis idea of using lasers to move small objects has been around for some time. http://nextbigfuture.com/2010/09/laser-beam-uses-heated-gas-to-move.html What NASA is doing is taking this laboratory device and adapting it for use in a remote location, namely Mars. To get there, it has to withstand the acceleration and vibration of launch, as well as whatever landing system they choose to use. If it is rugged enough to make it to Mars, it can be used anywhere.
Report Post »SamIamTwo
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 8:25amBeam me up Scotty, there is no intelligent life on this planet!
Report Post »SamIamTwo
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 8:24amThis is how they keep NASA going…pouring out more money for something that prob will not work…and if it has any remote possibility of working BILLIONS will be dumped into it…
I do believe in retaining our NASA scientists, but for something that would benefit society, other than tang.
Report Post »MUDFLAPS
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 6:18amwhy… you guys are supposed to be saying how much the ******* have contributed to the world.
Report Post »I dont get it.
lel2007
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 6:50amThere only spending $100,000 ?
Report Post »Hollow
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 5:23amThe US government can’t afford to spend many on things that have no value. It would make sense every government paid for it to protect the planet from being hit asteroids other space hazards.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 6:12amSpend what money? Look at the Debt and Deficit… we are beyond broke!
Report Post »SamIamTwo
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 8:29amThey actually have a program to land on an asteroid.
They have to keep some of the NASA scientist or when they need them, they won’t be there. When we hit bottom like this they stretch out the programs or realign new ones to keep the best and brightest employed, should SHTF.
Learning curve at T-1 is a loser. But I do agree it should be of some value to society.
Report Post »macpappy
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 12:31amAnd we will deliver this tractor beam in a Russian or Chinese space craft, or will we just give them the technology for free? Obama has made NASA a joke; tractor beams; really?
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 2:28amNo… we teleport a TelePorter to a Moon or Planet… then, remotely have that TelePorter transport us there. It works like Magic!
Report Post »Boulderite
Posted on November 2, 2011 at 11:55pmThank goodness for Star Trek–flip telephones/communicators, phasers/tasers and now tractor beams…
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on November 2, 2011 at 11:50pm$100k… what… are they watching movies? That would not buy EFT-spit!
Report Post »JohnnyMidknight
Posted on November 4, 2011 at 3:55pm@ lukerw
[Quote: $100k… what… are they watching movies?]
That and porn… I mean they may have the mainline from the SEC.
Report Post »mrbuff1959
Posted on November 2, 2011 at 11:26pmYou want your children to be rich beound your wildest dreams . figure out how to build the first space tugboat, go out and bring back heavy medal astroids ore ice asteroids to the closest lagrang point to earth…
Report Post »V-MAN MACE
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 12:10pmLearn how to extract gold from seawater. Then you’ll be rich beyond your wildest dreams.
Report Post »