Author: Maria Temming / Source: Science News
A new machine uses ultrasonic waves to make particles dance in midair like marionettes on (invisible) strings.
Unlike other devices that also use sound radiation to manipulate matter, the new system can move several objects in different directions at once (SN: 4/19/14, p. 8). This kind of levitation technology, described online the week of December 17 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could assemble microelectronics or maneuver small objects inside the body for medical treatment.
In the new device, an array of 256 speakers, each about 1 centimeter wide, faces another, identical speaker array across a distance of 23 centimeters. The speakers emit sound waves at frequencies too high to hear, creating an intricate sound field between the two arrays. This…
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