In 2018, Arthur Ashkin won the Nobel Prize in Physics for inventing optical tweezers: laser beams that can be used to manipulate microscopic particles. While useful for many biological applications, ...

A study published last month by University of Minnesota mechanical engineering researchers has the potential to make waves – ultrasonic waves, to be exact – in fields like surgery and manufacturing. U ...

Researchers in Switzerland have found a way of using sound waves to manipulate objects in disordered environments such as liquids. Instead of trapping the objects as conventional optical and acoustic ...

TORONTO (CTV Network) — Researchers at Tokyo Metropolitan University have created ‘tweezers of sound’ that can move objects without physical contact. The technology creates non-contact manipulation of ...

Scientists have built a novel sonic tractor beam that can lift and move objects using sound waves. High-amplitude sound waves are used to generate an acoustic hologram which can pick up and move small ...

The metamaterial created by Zhang is used to push and rotate an object adorned with the University of Wisconsin’s Bucky the Badger. NEW ORLEANS, May 20, 2025 – Sound can do more than just provide a ...

Hold on to your wand, Harry Potter: Science has outdone even your best "Leviosa!" levitation spell. Researchers report that they have levitated objects with sound waves, and moved those objects around ...

Scientists have demonstrated a simple method to create complex sound fields in three dimensions to move objects. The new research uses 3-D printed plates to create acoustic holograms that are a ...

Alfredo has a PhD in Astrophysics and a Master's in Quantum Fields and Fundamental Forces from Imperial College London.View full profile Alfredo has a PhD in Astrophysics and a Master's in Quantum ...

The researchers were able to levitate and transport items ranging from a droplet of water to a toothpick. They did so using pairs of sound-emitting platforms and reflector sheets. Sound leaves the ...

Tractor beams have hit the big time. A newly constructed device generates a beam of concentrated sound that, for the first time, exerts a continuous, perceptible tug on objects large enough to see.

Levitation isn't just for mystics anymore. A Japanese technology team has demonstrated ultrasonic levitation of objects that for the first time works in three dimensions. This means that as opposed to ...