Manipulating aquatic currents for precise navigation of buoyant items
In an exciting breakthrough, an international team of researchers has developed a ground-breaking technique to manipulate water and move floating objects with unprecedented precision. This research, led by optical engineer Shen Yijie, was published early this February in the prestigious journal Nature.
Yijie and his colleagues have shown that water waves can move floating objects as small as grains of rice. By generating intricate patterns across the water's surface, such as loops and vortices, they were able to control the movement of these objects, guiding them to follow circular or spiral paths, or even holding them in place.
The technique is driven by waves generated by 3D-printed plastic structures. One such structure is a ring with 24 tubes connected to speakers, which produces low-pitched humming sounds that create ripples in the water. The deviation of the floating objects from their path was less than a fifth of an inch (about 5 millimeters), demonstrating the high precision of this innovative method.
This research is the first step in exploring how water waves can be shaped to move objects. The team aims to investigate whether waves can create similar patterns beneath the surface of the water. Given the similarities among water waves, light waves, and electron movement, the researchers suggest that water could provide a more accessible way to study some quantum phenomena.
On a larger scale, the technique could potentially control the movement of boats across bodies of water. However, the impact of strong natural waves would have to be accounted for when implementing this technology. Another potential application could be in cleaning up floating chemical pollutants in large bodies of water.
Future research could study water waves on the scale of cells and sea waves that are a thousand times bigger. There is also the intriguing possibility of using water patterns to store data.
It's important to note that an earlier version of this story mistakenly claimed that the researchers moved "grains of rice." In reality, they moved floating objects as small as grains of rice.
On a molecular scale, this technique could bring particles together without direct manipulation. This could open up new possibilities in various fields, from engineering to biology.
This research was inspired by Yijie's previous work on light patterns. As he stated, "This research is the first step in exploring how water waves can be shaped to move objects, with potential applications in the future."
With this remarkable advancement, the world of water manipulation has taken a significant step forward, offering promising possibilities for the future.
