Use a laser to move objects in the air

What is special about this laser experiment is that you do not need to go to a professional lab to do anything that can be done at home!

Scientists have found a way to make microscopic diamond particles float in the air like using "divine power" in Star Trek - interstellar travel.

Previously, we knew that lasers could be used to move microscopic particles, such as atoms, but this was the first time this technique had been implemented on a nano diamond - only 100 nm in size. , which is 1,000 times smaller than our fingernails.

 

Sometimes, it only takes a few minutes for this to happen.

Physicists at the University of Rochester have learned that lasers are made of photons, capable of creating a very weak force that we normally cannot sense.

"When we wake up early in the morning, when we open the window to catch the sun, we don't feel pulled or pushed," said research group member Nick Vamivakas. "But we found that if you use a focusing lens to focus the laser into a single beam, it is capable of controlling micro particles".

Sometimes, it only takes a few minutes for this to happen, but sometimes the process takes a long time.

"Once I had to wait half an hour before the diamond could fly , " Nick continued. "But once it has been" trapped "we can keep it that way for many hours."

The name of this effect is Optical Levitation.

Scientists hope to find a way to apply this technology in the field of quantum computers, or explain how friction works for microscopic objects.

But what makes this phenomenon special is that you don't need to own a lab or specialized tools to do it. It only takes a few hundred thousand dong to buy components, including a lens, a cheap laser lamp that you play with when you play, and a closed room to avoid the wind - because the laser's pulling force is quite weak so A light wind is enough to make it affected.

The name of this effect is Optical Levitation , which is when the kinetic energy of the photons is transmitted to an object, causing it to float in the laser. The object must be extremely small in size, below 50 µm, so don't try to catch UFOs or space planes by shining your laser on the night sky.