Scientists Levitate Small Animals

Using nothing but uplifting sounds, researchers suspended bugs and fish in mid-air. Most of the creatures survived unharmed, but the fish was, well, like a fish out of water.

Xie and his colleagues employed an ultrasound emitter and reflector that generated a sound pressure field between them. The emitter produced roughly 20-millimeter-wavelength sounds, meaning it could in theory levitate objects half that wavelength or less.

After the investigators got the ultrasound field going, they used tweezers to carefully place animals between the emitter and reflector. The scientists found they could float ants, beetles, spiders, ladybugs, bees, tadpoles and fish up to a little more than a third of an inch long in midair. When they levitated the fish and tadpole, the researchers added water to the ultrasound field every minute via syringe.

Link & Image: LiveScience via Digg
Tags: Insect | Levitate | Science