Beam Me Up, Scotty! Acoustic Tractor Beam Now a DIY Project

[gene]

The tractor beam has long been the stuff of science fiction, but it turns out that this technical milestone of nerd culture already exists thanks to developments in acoustic technology. Today, you can find instructions online to build your own tractor beam with a 3D printer. However, because it uses sound, the technology is limited to very small but visible objects. But it’s already being used to study the effects on life in space and shows potential as a component in a future medical tricorder. This is just another example of technology predicted by Star Trek.

Read: Beam Me Up, Scotty! Acoustic Tractor Beam Now a DIY Project

 

[lovinthehd]

Pretty cool!

 

[Wayde Robson]

Love the technology and the Star Trek connection!
Thanks for the idea on this, Gene.

I halfheartedly tried to make into a "Points for Audio!" kind-of competition between sound and light, as cheesy as that sounds. I think it's cool that audio is presently doing this technology better than lasers. Lasers get enough tech-glory, it's time sound became known for some cool stuff again.

 

[hk2000]

I don't remember the episode name, but in a ST episode Kirk and Spock use their phasers to create a rock slide by aiming the 2 'beams' at a weak spot in the rock formation and the interference essentially causes a wave powerful enough to create the rock slide. I don't know if that is based on legitimate physics or not, but if it is, that would be a very interesting area to explore.

 

[Wayde Robson]

I don't remember the episode name, but in a ST episode Kirk and Spock use their phasers to create a rock slide by aiming the 2 'beams' at a weak spot in the rock formation and the interference essentially causes a wave powerful enough to create the rock slide. I don't know if that is based on legitimate physics or not, but if it is, that would be a very interesting area to explore.

They used to make a big deal about Next Gen being highly accurate in its portrayal of science, even though it was speculative they dealt with real concepts. I don't know if the same can be said for the original series.

It reminds of the idea that sound can create an avalanche in the mountains. I think that's been used in movies and TV countless times.

 

[hk2000]

They used to make a big deal about Next Gen being highly accurate in its portrayal of science, even though it was speculative they dealt with real concepts. I don't know if the same can be said for the original series.

It reminds of the idea that sound can create an avalanche in the mountains. I think that's been used in movies and TV countless times.

(Under siege: Dark territory- "earthquake in the sky" quip)
A while back (it's been a few years now) I read an article claiming some researchers getting close to implementing the same concept for crowd control which, briefly, aims to direct specific messages to an individual or individuals in a crowd where the sound will only be heard by whoever within a narrow area where 2 sound waves intersect- I think the physics supports the hypothesis but I'm not sure of the ease of implementation- or maybe it's already been perfected and the government took control of the research and/or researchers, who knows!