To this day we still do not have news of the future of levitation. We have seen levitating things in films of Science fiction so famous and known as Return to the future or star War And we have always been fascinated to see how easily objects fly on the big screen. Make levitate Things are usually something that fascinates whoever is present and can excite anyone and at any age.
The current reality is that we are getting closer and closer to being able to do it almost normally, in reality, we are already able to make some small things can float in the air thanks to the acoustic levitation. Soon we will be able to do the same with much larger objects.
Levitate things with just the sound
Currently it is possible to levitate things in various ways. For example, To levitate magnetic things, magnetic levitation is used . Quantum levitation is extraordinary, however, we are still far from knowing how to apply it. The best option, nowadays, for us is the acoustic levitation that uses sound waves to suspend objects and different materials in the air. There is only one problem: this system only works if the object turns out to be smaller than your own sound waves . The result is that you could levitate, for example, an ant.
How levitation works by sound waves
Making levitate things by means of acoustic levitation consists of creating small pockets in space where the sound waves resonate with each other to create a standing wave. Stationary waves have points called "nodes" that are immobile while the rest of the wave oscillates. To try to understand well what these "nodes" are, imagine an attendee at a concert trying to get out of it while all the people around him move in different directions around him, pushing him with enough force so that he does not go anywhere. site.
In a standing wave, there is the same amount of energy coming from opposite directions so that the nodes do not move. To be able to float objects you have to be able to support them in one of those nodes and, for that reason, scientists believe that you can not levitate things larger than the waves themselves. Although new research suggests that with some "floaters" that could be possible in the future.
The difference is that instead of creating a solid standing wave between two sound waves in opposite directions, the new method would rotate the sound waves in opposite directions, thereby creating tornado-like sound structures, which are named after acoustic vortices. The object would be held right in the center of the vortices, that is, in the eye of the tornado.
Scientists have already been able to demonstrate that large-scale levitation can be carried out since they have been able to levitate a sphere of 2 centimeters of synthetic polymer. Does not that sound exciting? It seems to us, of course!
For the moment this is just a hypothesis but it proves that, at least in theory, it would be possible to levitate big things and even, in the future, to be able to levitate people.
One of the researchers, Bruce Drinkwater, believes that the application of this technique could be useful much sooner. In a press release he offered he claimed that:
"I am particularly excited by the idea of non-contact production lines where delicate objects are assembled without touching them."
This does not sound too bad, except if you work in one of those production lines. And it is that in reality, that is one of the great fears we have today; that technological advances, in some way, end up displacing humans in their functions. What will happen if all the lines of production, in which millions of people work, are replaced by technology of this type?
Undoubtedly everything that makes us advance as a species, has collateral damage when we speak, no longer of species, but of individuals. It is believed that even with the advance in robotic technology, we will suffer great losses. The humans we will have to adapt in the best possible way or we will stay on the road, only the so-called "superhumans" or "improved humans" can survive this advance.
What is your opinion about these advances? What do you think about the idea of levitating things? Do you think that these large-scale levitations will be achieved? And if so, do you think that this advancement will benefit us or harm us as a species?
It is undoubtedly an interesting topic to discuss and share opinions. Which is yours? We would like you to leave us your comments about this topic, we will be happy to read you!