Now real: 'Doctor Who' sonic screwdriver, 'Star Trek' tricorder
Good news for geeks. Scottish scientists come up with a gadget Doctor Who would use, while a Canadian boffin develops a working tricorder-like device.
(Credit:
IDW Comics)
Scientists have boldly gone where no one has gone before this week -- while shouting "Geronimo!" probably. Separate teams have developed working gadgets similar to Doctor Who's sonic screwdriver and the tricorder seen in "Star Trek."
Boffins at the University of Dundee in Scotland have developed an ultrasound array that can lift a 10cm (3.9-inch) rubber disk and spin it around without touching it, a bit like the Doctor's famous sonic screwdriver. Or to be more precise, they used a 1,000-element ultrasound transducer array to create an ultrasound vortex beam shaped of intertwined helixes to exert torque on the 3.2-ounce disk.
And open any door, we're guessing. Unless it's wood.
Read more of "Doctor Who sonic screwdriver and Star Trek tricorder are real" at Crave UK.
