Home > Terms > English, UK (UE) > reversible tractor beam
reversible tractor beam
A tractor beam is a technique that uses a light beam to attract one object to another from a distance. The term was originally coined by E. E. Smith as an update to his earlier description of the attractor beam in his novel Spacehounds of IPC (1931). A reversible tractor beam is a beam that can both attract and repel objects across distances. Scientists have developed versatile reversible tractor beams using a single laser beam to move objects across distances 100 times farther than previously possible. Practical applications could include controlling atmospheric pollution, or retrieving tiny, delicate or dangerous particles for sampling. It could also be scaled up for larger uses.
Other Languages:
Member comments
Terms in the News
Featured Terms
Maserati GranTurismo
Manufactured by Italian car company Maserati, the Maserati Gran Turismo is a two-door coupe sports car. The first model came out in 2007, following ...
Contributor
Featured blossaries
Browers Terms By Category
- Material physics(1710)
- Metallurgy(891)
- Corrosion engineering(646)
- Magnetics(82)
- Impact testing(1)
Materials science(3330) Terms
- Fuel cell(402)
- Capacitors(290)
- Motors(278)
- Generators(192)
- Circuit breakers(147)
- Power supplies(77)
Electrical equipment(1403) Terms
- News(147)
- Radio & TV broadcasting equipment(126)
- TV equipment(9)
- Set top box(6)
- Radios & accessories(5)
- TV antenna(1)
Broadcasting & receiving(296) Terms
- Action toys(4)
- Skill toys(3)
- Animals & stuffed toys(2)
- Educational toys(1)
- Baby toys(1)
Toys and games(11) Terms
- Hand tools(59)
- Garden tools(45)
- General tools(10)
- Construction tools(2)
- Paint brush(1)