UK researchers developing Doctor Who-like sonic device
DEC 06, 2010
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.024880
Telegraph : The sonic screwdriver used by British sci-fi character Doctor Who could become a real-life tool, capable of moving and manipulating objects using only ultrasonic sound waves. Bruce Drinkwater, an ultrasonics engineer at the University of Bristol, told Richard Gray of the Telegraph, “We have developed a device that allows us to use ultrasonic forces to move small objects like biological cells around to sort them or to assemble them.” Tiny crystals are made to vibrate by passing an electrical current through them, producing an ultrasonic shock wave in the air around them. This shock wave generates a force that can be used to push the cells. In future, by increasing the size of the shock wave, such a device could be used to undo screws, assemble electronics, or put together delicate components.
© 2010 American Institute of Physics
