The desire to harness energy from all earthly forces remains a passion with scientists. After conquering the battle to harness solar energy, scientists went a step further in attempting to exploit energy from the force of sunlight. After years of failure, it seems a dedicated team of researchers from Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science has succeeded.

Concentrating on nanophotonics and nanomechanics, the research slices optics and mechanics down into nano-proportions opening up the doors for creation of semiconductors powered by the force of light. Team leader and assistant professor at Yale, Hong Tang, explains that this is possible only since the force of light is strong enough to move particles of nanoscale. Furthermore, this optical force is not the radiation pressure applied by light in the direction of force. Though earlier predicted by theories, the force remained to be proven practically. The light force is routed through a nanoscale mechanical device generating enough light to power nanoscale machinery on a silicon chip.

The research, which appears in the November 27 issue of Nature, was funded by the National Science Foundation, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the Alexander von Humboldt post-doctoral fellowship program.

Via: Yale