Light Resonators Used To Move Nano-Sized Objects

ElectricSteve writes "Scientists at Cornell University report they can now use a light beam carrying a single milliwatt of power to move objects and even change the optical properties of silicon from opaque to transparent at the nanometric scale." As the article says, such an advancement "could prove very useful for the future of micro-electromechanical (MEMS) and micro-optomechanical (MOMS) systems."

Comments

Re:Future switching?

[NoYob]

I was thinking of tractor beams, myself.

Re:How about giving credit where due?

[ColdWetDog]

Here, let me shine some light on the subject.

Re:How about giving credit where due?

[amirulbahr]

This article does:

The research by postdoctoral researcher Gustavo Wiederhecker, Long Chen, Ph.D. '09, Alexander Gondarenko, Ph.D. '10, and Lipson appears in the online edition of the journal Nature and will appear in a forthcoming print edition.

Re:MOMS?

[DNS-and-BIND]

It's an acronym. It has no meaning, it's just an abbreviation of Micro-OptoMechanical Systems. Perhaps you were waiting for someone to make a totally contrived name, where they start with the name and make dumb words up to fit it? The sort of "acronym" that sounds hilarious the first time you say it, and gets progressively less funny each time?