Summary
Researchers at New York University have developed a real-life version of a tractor beam, a concept popularized by science fiction. David Greer, a physics professor and director of the Center for Soft Matter Research, explains that their work builds on historical observations about light's ability to exert force, dating back to astronomer Peter Apien in the 1500s and further explored by Johannes Kepler and James Clerk Maxwell.
The team uses optical tweezers, which manipulate microscopic objects using light, to create a new class of beams called solenoid waves. Unlike traditional beams that push objects away, these new beams can pull objects toward them along their entire length, functioning as true tractor beams. This breakthrough could have significant applications, particularly for NASA, which is interested in using these beams for gathering samples from comets and planetary surfaces.
Greer emphasizes the potential of this technology to bridge the gap between science fiction and real-world applications, highlighting ongoing efforts to refine these tractor beams for practical use in space exploration.
Show Notes
NYU Professor of Physics, David Grier, dropped in to tell us about his team's amazing work building the world's first real life tractor beam. Just like Star Trek, he explains how their light beam pulls things toward it, how it works and how it could soon be used by NASA.::More about this Video::► Prof David Grier's homepage: http://physics.nyu.edu/grierlab/► "Building Star Trek", Smithsonian Channel: http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/shows/building-star-trek/0/3436402► Outro music by Taylor Davis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl9kI1yQKZk::Playlists For Channel::Latest Cool Worlds Videos ► http://bit.ly/NewCoolWorldsCool Worlds Research ► http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsResearchGuest Videos ► http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsGuestsQ&A Videos ► http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsQAScience of TV/Film ► http://bit.ly/ScienceMovies::Follow us::SUBSCRIBE to the channel http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsSubscribeCool Worlds Lab http://coolworlds.astro.columbia.eduTwitter https://twitter.com/david_kippingInstagram https://www.instagram.com/cool.worldsTHANKS FOR WATCHING!! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Use code coolworlds at https://incogni.com/coolworlds to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan.The idea of Dyson Spheres was a radical proposal by the physicist Freeman Dyson, an enormous shell of material enveloping a star. Dyson's idea may be over half a century old, but interest in looking for such objects has only grown in the decades since. But how would such structures work? Are they physically even possible? And what might someone use them for? Today, we dive into the physics of Dyson spheres.Written & presented by Prof. David Kipping. Edited by Jorge Casas. Special thanks to Jason Wright for fact checking.→ Support our research: https://www.coolworldslab.com/support→ Get merch: https://teespring.com/stores/cool-worlds-store→ Check out our podcast: www.youtube.com/@CoolWorldsPodcastTHANK-YOU to T. Widdowson, D. Smith, L. Sanborn, C. Bottaccini, D. Daughaday, S. Brownlee, E. West, T. Zajonc, A. De Vaal, M. Elliott, B. Daniluk, S. Vystoropskyi, S. Lee, Z. Danielson, C. Fitzgerald, C. Souter, M. Gillette, T. Jeffcoat, J. Rockett, D. Murphree, M. Sanford, T. Donkin, A. Schoen, K. Dabrowski, R. Ramezankhani, J. Armstrong, S. Marks, B. Smith, J. Kruger, S. Applegate, E. Zahnle, N. Gebben, J. Bergman, C. Macdonald, M. Hedlund, P. Kaup, W. Evans, N. Corwin, K. Howard, L. Deacon, G. Metts, R. Provost, G. Fullwood, N. De Haan, R. Williams, E. Garland, R. Lovely, A. Cornejo, D. Compos, F. Demopoulos, G. Bylinsky, J. Werner, S. Thayer, T. Edris, F. Blood, M. O'Brien, D. Lee, J. Sargent, M. Czirr, F. Krotzer, I. Williams, J. Sattler, B. Reese, O. Shabtay, X. Yao, S. Saverys, A. Nimmerjahn, C. Seay, D. Johnson, L. Cunningham, M. Morrow, M. Campbell, B. Devermont, Y. Muheim, A. Stark, C. Caminero, P. Borisoff, A. Donovan & H. Schiff.REFERENCES► Wright, J. 2020, "Dyson Spheres", Serbian Astronomical Journal, 200, 1: https://arxiv.org/abs/2006.16734► Dyson, F. 1960, "Search for Artificial Stellar Sources of Infrared Radiation", Science, 131, 1667: https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1960Sci...131.1667D► Dyson, F. 1960, Science, 132, 250► NASA IRB JWST Report 2018: https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/webb_irb_report_and_response_0.pdf?emrc=d3ca32► Papagiannis, M. D. 1985, "SETI - a look into the future.", The search for extraterrestrial life: recent development, 543: https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1985IAUS..112..543P► Scoggins, M. & Kipping, D. 2023, "Lazarus stars: numerical investigations of stellar evolution with star-lifting as a life extension strategy", MNRAS, 523, 3251: https://arxiv.org/abs/2210.02338MUSICLicensed by SoundStripe.com (SS) [shorturl.at/ptBHI], Artlist.io, via CC Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) or with permission from the artist.0:34 Tamuz Dekel - Quiet Pull3:05 We Dream of Eden - Discovery4:23 Hill - World of Wonder [https://open.spotify.com/track/7kYX7Gq7wWwGwvZbMfu9Qv]6:28 Chris Zabriskie - Music from Neptune Flux 048:59 Hill - Arctic Warmth11:54 Hill - Northern Borders15:13 Hill - Fragile17:45 Indive - Trace CorrectionCHAPTERS0:00 Prologue0:39 Inception3:11 Incogni4:27 Mechanical Stability8:31 Gravitational Stability11:08 Stellar Feedback13:42 Computational Limits16:23 Rings and Swarms17:45 Outro and Credits#DysonSphere #Astronomy #CoolWorlds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dr Seth Shostak, Senior Astronomer of the SETI Institute, was at the New England Fall Astronomy Festival with me last week and I took the opportunity to ask him about the news reports of a SETI signal detected in Russia from the star HD 164595. Dr Shostak explains why he's not convinced that we've just heard from another civilization. Apologies for the noisy background and typo on the title: Shostak not Shostack!::More about this Video::► CNN News report: http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/31/europe/seti-signal-hd-164595-not-alien-civilization/► Big Picture Science: http://radio.seti.org/about_the_show► SETI Institute: http://www.seti.org/► Outro music by Taylor Davis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl9kI1yQKZk::Playlists For Channel::Latest Cool Worlds Videos ► http://bit.ly/NewCoolWorldsCool Worlds Research ► http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsResearchGuest Videos ► http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsGuestsQ&A Videos ► http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsQAScience of TV/Film ► http://bit.ly/ScienceMovies::Follow us::SUBSCRIBE to the channel http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsSubscribeCool Worlds Lab http://coolworlds.astro.columbia.eduTwitter https://twitter.com/david_kippingInstagram https://www.instagram.com/cool.worldsTHANKS FOR WATCHING!! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Thanks to Storyblocks for sponsoring this video! Download unlimited stock media at one set price with Storyblocks: https://www.storyblocks.com/CoolWorldsThere are many possible solutions to the Fermi Paradox but a few have risen to particular prominence - including the "Grabby Aliens" hypothesis. Today, we'll explore what this solution proposes, what it assumes, and ultimately three reasons why I personally don't think it's right.Written & presented by Prof. David Kipping. Edited by Jorge Casas. Special thanks to Robin Hanson for his discussions with me on this.→ Support our research: https://www.coolworldslab.com/support→ Get merch: https://teespring.com/stores/cool-worlds-store→ Check out our podcast: www.youtube.com/@CoolWorldsPodcastTHANK-YOU to T. Widdowson, D. Smith, L. Sanborn, C. Bottaccini, D. Daughaday, S. Brownlee, E. West, T. Zajonc, A. De Vaal, M. Elliott, B. Daniluk, S. Vystoropskyi, S. Lee, Z. Danielson, C. Fitzgerald, C. Souter, M. Gillette, T. Jeffcoat, J. Rockett, D. Murphree, M. Sanford, T. Donkin, A. Schoen, K. Dabrowski, R. Ramezankhani, J. Armstrong, S. Marks, B. Smith, J. Kruger, S. Applegate, E. Zahnle, N. Gebben, J. Bergman, C. Macdonald, M. Hedlund, P. Kaup, W. Evans, N. Corwin, K. Howard, L. Deacon, G. Metts, R. Provost, G. Fullwood, N. De Haan, R. Williams, E. Garland, R. Lovely, A. Cornejo, D. Compos, F. Demopoulos, G. Bylinsky, J. Werner, S. Thayer, T. Edris, F. Blood, M. O'Brien, D. Lee, J. Sargent, M. Czirr, F. Krotzer, I. Williams, J. Sattler, B. Reese, O. Shabtay, X. Yao, S. Saverys, A. Nimmerjahn, C. Seay, D. Johnson, L. Cunningham, M. Morrow, M. Campbell, B. Devermont, Y. Muheim, A. Stark, C. Caminero, P. Borisoff, A. Donovan & H. Schiff.REFERENCES► Hanson, R. et al. 2021, "If Loud Aliens Explain Human Earliness, Quiet Aliens Are Also Rare", ApJ, 922, 182: https://arxiv.org/abs/2102.01522► Carter, B. 2008, "Five or six step scenario for evolution?", Int. J. Astrobiology, 7, 103516: https://arxiv.org/abs/0711.1985► Kipping, D. 2021, "The Red Sky Paradox", PNAS, 118, e2026808118: https://arxiv.org/abs/2106.11207MUSICLicensed by SoundStripe.com (SS) [shorturl.at/ptBHI], Artlist.io, via CC Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) or with permission from the artist.0:00 - Tamuz Dekel - Quiet Pull2:55 - Joachim Heinrich - Horizon4:13 - Joachim Heinrich - Stjärna6:41 - Hill - World of Wonder 7:43 - Chris Zabriskie - The Oceans Continue to Rise9:33 - Hill - Arctic Warmth12:21 - Hill - Northern Boards15:39 - Hill - Fragile 19:10 - Hill - The MeekCHAPTERS0:00 Grabby Aliens6:43 StoryBlocks7:47 Hard Steps12:00 M-Dwarfs15:30 Philosophical Issues18:05 Conclusions19:10 Outro and Credits#GrabbyAliens #FermiParadox #CoolWorlds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The most fundamental question we can ever ask: Why is something rather than nothing? Not nothing as in no particles or no energy, but nothing as in no space, no time, no laws of physics at all. This is a question that has haunted me for years and today this deepest of questions.Written and presented by Prof David Kipping, edited by Jorge Casas.→ Support our research program: https://www.coolworldslab.com/support→ Get Stash here! https://teespring.com/stores/cool-worlds-store [themed T-shirt for the video is here: https://cool-worlds-store.creator-spring.com/listing/why-is-there-anything]THANK-YOU to our supporters D. Smith, M. Sloan, C. Bottaccini, D. Daughaday, A. Jones, S. Brownlee, N. Kildal, Z. Star, E. West, T. Zajonc, C. Wolfred, L. Skov, G. Benson, A. De Vaal, M. Elliott, B. Daniluk, M. Forbes, S. Vystoropskyi, S. Lee, Z. Danielson, C. Fitzgerald, C. Souter, M. Gillette, T. Jeffcoat, J. Rockett, D. Murphree, S. Hannum, T. Donkin, K. Myers, A. Schoen, K. Dabrowski, J. Black, R. Ramezankhani, J. Armstrong, K. Weber, S. Marks, L. Robinson, S. Roulier, B. Smith, G. Canterbury, J. Cassese, J. Kruger, S. Way, P. Finch, S. Applegate, L. Watson, E. Zahnle, N. Gebben, J. Bergman, E. Dessoi, J. Alexander, C. Macdonald, M. Hedlund, P. Kaup, C. Hays, W. Evans, D. Bansal, J. Curtin, J. Sturm, RAND Corp., M. Donovan, N. Corwin, M. Mangione, K. Howard, L. Deacon, G. Metts, G. Genova, R. Provost, B. Sigurjonsson, G. Fullwood, B. Walford, J. Boyd, N. De Haan, J. Gillmer, R. Williams, E. Garland, A. Leishman, A. Phan Le, R. Lovely, M. Spoto, A. Steele, M. Varenka, K. Yarbrough, A. Cornejo, D. Compos, F. Demopoulos, G. Bylinsky & J. Werner.::Music::Music licensed by SoundStripe.com (SS) [shorturl.at/ptBHI], Artlist.io, via Creative Commons (CC) Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), or with permission from the artist► 00:00 Hill - The Great Alchemist [https://open.spotify.com/track/3PAx36jIsKiQMT9CQsRk4G?si=035fc819505445a1]► 04:28 Falls - Ripley► 08:11 Joachim Heinrich - Stjärna► 09:49 Hill - Evening Approaches [https://open.spotify.com/track/3mYMEDKgj4qwBkuwcXeb89]► 11:18 Hill - Fragmented [https://open.spotify.com/track/1z9xpNXpQmbXYd9M8dcJhE]► 13:49 Hill - A Slowly Lifting Fog [https://open.spotify.com/track/0GgkyL3y22kFslT6wUsKlt]► 16:57 Joachim Heinrich - Y::Chapters::00:00 Restless Nights02:35 Candle in the Dark09:25 Ontological Crises10:35 Why Not Nothing?13:19 A Brutal Possibility16:59 A Personal Reflection#WhyIsThereAnything #WhyNotNothing #CoolWorlds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Astronomers are finding habitable exoplanets everywhere! We are now starting to think about the next step, how can we use our telescopes to look for signs of life on distant worlds? Cool Worlds Lab astronomer Tiffany Jansen talks about possible atmospheric signals that could indicate the presence of a biosphere, but also the abiotic sources that could fool us all.::More about this Video::► Reinhard et al. (2017), "False negatives for remote life detection on ocean-bearing planets: Lessons from the early Earth": https://arxiv.org/abs/1702.01137► Hein et al. (2013), "Some inconvenient truths about biosignatures involving two chemical species on Earth-like exoplanets": https://arxiv.org/abs/1404.6531► Wordsworth & Pierrehumbert (2014), "Abiotic oxygen-dominated atmospheres on terrestrial habitable zone planets": https://arxiv.org/abs/1403.2713► Outro music by Taylor Davis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl9kI1yQKZk::Playlists For Channel::Latest Cool Worlds Videos ► http://bit.ly/NewCoolWorldsCool Worlds Research ► http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsResearchGuest Videos ► http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsGuestsQ&A Videos ► http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsQAScience of TV/Film ► http://bit.ly/ScienceMovies::Follow us::SUBSCRIBE to the channel http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsSubscribeCool Worlds Lab http://coolworlds.astro.columbia.eduTwitter https://twitter.com/david_kippingInstagram https://www.instagram.com/cool.worldsTHANKS FOR WATCHING!! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices