Science Fiction or Fact: Will Tractor Beams Ever Become Reality?

By: Adam Hadhazy, Life's Little Mysteries Contributor

Date: 30 April 2012 Time: 03:39 PM ET

An ever-handy device, a tractor beam from a Galaxy-class starship holds the small Delta Flyer spacecraft in place on "Star Trek: Voyager." CREDIT: Paramount Television View full size image

 



In this weekly series, Life's Little Mysteries rates the plausibility of popular science fiction concepts.
Got a derelict spaceship you need to tow back to star base? Or maybe you're trying to prevent an enemy vessel from escaping? No problem: fire up the tractor beam.
This jack-of-all-trades tool ranks as a science fiction staple right alongside lasers and faster-than-light travel. An invisible tractor beam on the Death Star hauled in the Millennium Falcon in the original "Star Wars" flick, while a shimmering ray — which doubled as a repulsing beam — saved the crew's bacon multiple times on "Star Trek."

MORE: http://www.lifeslittlemysteries.com/2402-tractor-beams.html

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