Dr. Who's Sonic Screwdriver a Step Closer To Reality 94
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.
too bad.. (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.
Re:too bad.. (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.
Sci-Fi aside (Score:4, Interesting)
Wonder how well it works outside a liquid medium...