back to article NASA funds laser tractor beam research

NASA has awarded a $100,000 grant to three boffins who are investigating a tractor beam trifecta. Principal Investigator Paul Stysley and team members Demetrios Poulios and Barry Coyle at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center received the grant to research three methods of using lasers to collect particulate samples without the …

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  1. Red Bren

    The unanswered question

    How easily can this be mounted on a shark?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Devil

      Are you thinking what I'm thinking....?

      Beam up the "Boss" lol

      Just hover the Air-Swimmer shark over.........Surely no-one will notice.........then.........

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Are you thinking what I'm thinking....?

      Beam up the "Boss" lol

      Just hover the Air-Swimmer shark over.........Surely no-one will notice.........then.........

  2. frank ly
    Boffin

    The importance of background research.....

    "Though a mainstay in science fiction, and Star Trek in particular, laser-based trapping ...."

    Star Trek tractor beams use a subspace/graviton interference pattern for their effect. I'm surprised that a scientist working in this field wasn't aware of that.

  3. TRT Silver badge

    Well, it might work...

    if they can pull in enough funding.

  4. Peter Clarke 1
    Trollface

    Who You Gonna Call?

    They might have trouble getting the Nuclear Accelerator licenced for use in a back pack.

    Don't cross the streams!!!

  5. Lockwood
    Joke

    "This is a new application that no one has claimed yet." Coyle said, later adding "Though we see that Apple have already patented it"

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    That's no moon...

    They're missing the key ingredient to getting it to work correctly: Make sure the "on/off" switch is located on a tiny platform halfway up an extremely tall column.

  7. ennui

    The system that is used by a Flying Saucer (the technology was discovered, patented and rejected by Nasa, as it would make the Rockt Industry obsolete) would be able to send a beam and attract or repel a mass. Probably too advanced for Nasa scientists but High School kids would understand it. Look at One Terminal Capacitor,

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