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Dr. Who's Sonic Screwdriver a Step Closer To Reality

Posted by samzenpus on from the daleks-are-coming dept.

cylonlover writes "A University of Dundee research team led by Prof. Mike MacDonald has demonstrated that both levitation and twisting forces can be applied to an object by application of ultrasonic beams. The team of physicists at the University of Dundee in Scotland (with associates at Bristol University in England) have succeeded in generating an ultrasonic vortex beam strong enough to lift and rotate a rubber disk submerged in water. This latest breakthrough is part of a wide-ranging U.K. research effort to develop a device not unlike the "sonic screwdriver" made famous by the TV series Doctor Who." We covered the beginning of the sonic screwdriver project by Bristol University engineers a little over a year ago.

3 of 94 comments (clear)

  1. too bad.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    To bad the sonic screwdriver got turned into a "Magic Wand" in the new series. Now it does anything the writers want it to do.

    1. Re:too bad.. by ThunderBird89 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      It was a magic wand in the old series too, after a time. That's exactly why it got written out after a while, resulting in the Fifth Doctor going "hands free", as Tenant put it.

      --
      Hyperbole: I use it liberally!
  2. Sci-Fi aside by CanHasDIY · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It's still pretty damn cool. I mean, c'mon - moving shit with sound? I can see this tech coming in handy for shipwreck recovery, among other applications I haven't thought of yet...

    Wonder how well it works outside a liquid medium...

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese