Light-Driven Nanoparticle Choreography
A Tiny Dance: How Light Guides Nanoparticles with Optical Tweezers Imagine wielding invisible strings to move microscopic objects around – that's the magic of optical tweezers! This ingenious technique uses focused laser beams to trap and manipulate nanoparticles, opening a world of possibilities in nanoscience and beyond. Light as a Force: Optical tweezers work on the principle of light pressure. When a laser beam is focused onto a tiny particle, the photons exert a force that can trap the particle in place. This happens because the light scattering forces are stronger at the center of the beam than at its edges, creating a "potential well" around the focal point. The Nano Playground: Nanoparticles are fascinating building blocks for everything from...