Tractor beams make intuitive sense. Matter and energy interact with each other in countless ways throughout the Universe. Magnetism and gravity are both natural forces that can draw objects together, ...

The quest for a real life tractor beam continues, with a 2-micrometer-thick silicon light bender. The silicon metasurface changes a solid beam into a triple spiral one that can pick up particles.

Scientists have created a new 'tractor beam' device that can move objects distances of up to several centimetres - about 100 times further than demonstrated in earlier experiments. The work has been ...