Science
Arthur Ashkin, 98, Dies; Nobel Laureate Invented a ‘Tractor Beam’ – The New York Times
It isn’t quite “Star Trek,” but his optical tweezers use the pressure of light in a laser beam to seize and manipulate microscopic objects, from atoms to living…
Other scientists thought this application would not work, as he explained in an interview with the Nobel Institute after he was awarded the prize in 2018.
They used light to heal wounds, and it was considered to be deadly, he said. When I described catching living things with light, people said, Dont exaggerate, Ashkin.
Among the things Dr. Ashkin was able to trap were subcellular structures of the single-celled paramecium and a small virus that attacks tobacco plants. Through his trapping met…
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