Scientists use quantum mechanics to levitate microscopic objects

by Rich Bowden - Jan 8 2009, 04:39

U.S. scientists have used a repellent force found at a microscopic scale to demonstrate how it is possible to levitate tiny objects.

Img: Illustration, Casimir force. Credit: Emok

Researchers from Harvard University and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have used a force found at quantum levels for the technique and suggest its use could have far-reaching applications for powering tiny nanotechnology machines.Based on previous research on the so-called Casimir force, the team, led by Federico Capasso of the Robert L. Wallace Professor of Applied Physics at Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS), has yet to demonstrate the levitation but is confident the discovery will lead to the phenomenon."When two surfaces of the same material, such as gold, are separated by vacuum, air, or a fluid, the resulting force is always attractive," explained Capasso.However, when one of the two surfaces immersed in a fluid was replaced by one made of silica, the force immediately became repulsive, he said in a Harvard news release."Repulsive Casimir forces are of great interest since they can be used in new ultra-sensitive force and torque sensors to levitate an object immersed in a fluid at nanometric distances above a surface," added Capasso. "Further, these objects are free to rotate or translate relative to each other with minimal static friction because their surfaces never come into direct contact."The findings of the breakthrough research have been published in the journal Nature.

Talkback

There are currently no comments for this article. Be the first to comment! (no registration required)

Science: Index; Features

: News

Advertising

The Fine Print

© 2008 - 2009 The Tech Herald.com, WOTR Limited. All photos are copyright their respective owners and are used under license or with permission. The Tech Herald cannot be held responsible for the content on other Web Sites.

Servers supplied by Servint

Science

Scientists use quantum mechanics to levitate microscopic objects

Talkback

Latest

Latest Articles on Monsters&Critics

In The Tech Herald

Site

The Fine Print