Tractor beams have hit the big time. A newly constructed device generates a beam of concentrated sound that, for the first time, exerts a continuous, perceptible tug on objects large enough to see.

Researchers have come up with a new and improved way to levitate objects using sound waves alone, an impressive feat of mixed-reality technology that could pave the way for some seriously futuristic ...

An artist's rendering shows an acoustic hologram trapping a particle over a levitation device. Courtesy Asier Marzo, Bruce Drinkwater and Sriram Subramanian It's no Mattel hoverboard. But a device ...

It may seem straight out of "Star Trek," but it's real: Scientists have created a sonic "tractor beam" that can pull, push and pirouette objects that levitate in thin air. The sonic tractor beam ...

A new project from Disney Research can recognize various objects in videos — cows, cars, very small rocks — and add appropriate sounds — “Mooo!”, “Vroom!”, a witch’s cackle — automatically. The system ...

Powerful, carefully controlled sound waves could be used to control objects without having to touch them at all–even inside the human body. This video shows a real live tractor beam in action. It uses ...

Smithsonian Institution, Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, 600 Maryland Ave., S.W., Suite 2001, Washington ...

The Voyager 1 space probe is the farthest human-made object in space. It launched in 1977 with a golden record on board that carried assorted sounds of our home planet: greetings in many different ...