Real-life tractor beam

Boffins have fabricated microscopic sci-fi tractor beams for real It can only hold millions of cold rubidium atoms for now though Mad boffin Phillip Light playing with the atomic chamber used to create the waveguide trap The idea of tractor beams, concentrated rays of energy used to trap and move objects at a distance, was first introduced in science fiction.

The beam grabs hold of atoms that are floating in a chamber that is almost completely emptied of gas - a little sample of outer space on Earth,” said Ashby Hilton, a PhD student at the University of Adelaide.

The rubidium atoms are held in place as they interact with the infrared photons and are pushed into the centre of the light beam.

The team hope to refine their experiments by using a hollow cone of light to move atoms, rather than a solid laser beam.

Instead the researchers had to start small, using beams of light to manipulate atoms.