“optical tweezer” tagged posts

In this artist’s conception of the Nebraska experiment, the white orbs represent two laser pulses, with plasma waves in their wakes. The waves interfere with one another after the laser pulses cross, and electrons ride the wakefield waves to higher energy.
Credit: Extreme Light Laboratory, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Force of light boosts electrons close to speed of light. In a recent experiment at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, plasma electrons in the paths of intense laser light pulses were almost instantly accelerated close to the speed of light.

Physics professor Donald Umstadter, who led the research, said the new application might aptly be called an “optical rocket” because of the tremendous amount of force that light exerted in the experiment...