Scientists Demonstrate Guided Acoustic Levitation

The very phenomenon of acoustic levitation - flight using the energy of sound waves of sufficiently high intensity - has been known for a long time. However, scientists from the Swiss Higher Technical School of Zurich managed to achieve not just soaring objects on the crest of a standing wave, but a controlled flight . Their installation consists of an array of ultrasonic emitters under the control of a computer. Consistently changing the frequency and intensity of different emitters, you can move and rotate objects without touching them. Scientists have demonstrated controlled levitation of droplets of liquids and grains of solid materials, as well as the rotation of a wooden toothpick - for acoustic levitation, unlike electromagnetic levitation, the electrical and magnetic properties of objects are completely unimportant.



Acoustic levitation is inferior to magnetic in accuracy of manipulation and has undesirable side effects - too much intensity of sound waves can literally break the levitating object. Although it is theoretically possible to make a massive object soar on sound waves, in practice it is more convenient to handle small drops and particles of matter when the intensity of the acoustic waves is quite small.

The advantages of acoustic levitation are manifested where it is necessary to manipulate non-magnetic and non-conductive materials. It can be used in chemistry and biology when working with substances and preparations for which contact with any surfaces is undesirable, in microelectronics and everywhere where there are very high requirements for the purity of materials for the transport of drugs.

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