Marcus Woo
Imagine a space telescope the size of a football field that weighs as much as a few slices of bread. Researchers have taken a step toward that goal by creating a small mirror out of tiny polystyrene particles, held together by lasers. Without any weight constraints, telescopes could be much more powerful than previously thought possible.
When it comes to space telescopes, bigger is better. Telescopes like the Hubble Space Telescope use large mirrors to gather light, and the bigger the mirror, the more light they can collect, enabling them to see the faintest and most distant galaxies. But big, heavy mirrors are costly to manufacture and launch into space. So scientists have been trying to figure out a way to go big without going heavy.
In 1970, physicist Arthur Ashkin of Bell Labs in Holmdel, New Jersey, realized that laser beams could hold tiny particles in place. Since then, scientists have used lasers to trap atoms, molecules, and other small particles. Using these so-called optical tweezers, for example, biologists have been able to probe viruses, cells, bacteria, and DNA.
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