Lasers sturen minuscule objecten zonder contact: stap naar brandstofloze ruimtevaartuigen

Texas A&M University researchers have developed a laser-driven propulsion system using microscopic devices called "metajets" that move when struck by laser light. The technology transfers momentum from photons to create thrust without fuel, potentially enabling spacecraft to reach nearby stars in decades rather than hundreds of thousands of years. The team demonstrated three-dimensional control of objects smaller than a human hair by engineering the devices' surfaces to precisely control light interaction, with the underlying physics potentially scalable to larger systems given sufficient