Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Physicists in Australia have become the first researchers to levitate a macroscopic object using lasers.

By Sebastian Anthony on October 30, 2013 at 11:44 am


Physicists in Australia have become the first researchers to levitate a macroscopic object using lasers. The physicists used three lasers to form a levitational “tripod” that could hold a small mirror in free space. Beyond the inherent awesomeness of optical levitation, the physicists believe that the setup could be used as an incredibly accurate sensor for fickle forces such as gravity, and perhaps ameliorating the greatest contradiction of them all: quantum mechanics vs. general relativity.

Optical levitation with three lasers (spoof)

No comments: