Newly Created Phaser Blasts Sound Waves Instead of Light

It sounds like something out of Star Trek. Scientists have now built a laser that uses sound waves instead of light like a conventional laser. It could eventually be used in precise, ultrasound medical imaging and other applications.

Called a phonon laser, or "phaser" for short, the new device uses phonons as opposed to photons. In a traditional laser, a bunch of light particles called photos are emitted at a specific and narrow wavelength. As the particles all travel in the same direction at the same time, they efficiently carry energy from one place to another. The first of these photon lasers was created about 50 years ago, and since then they have grown more and more powerful. While sound waves have been considered before, though, it isn't until now that a true phonon laser has been created.

The idea of phonons was actually first introduced in 1932 by a Russian physicist named Igor Tamm, according to io9. It's essentially a particle of heat, though in the case of these lasers it's vibrational energy.

So how do the phasers work exactly? A mechanical oscillator excites a bunch of photons, which then relax and release their energy back into the device. This confined energy then causes the phaser to vibrate with a very narrow wavelength and produce phonons far above the human hearing range.

If you think you could make a Star Trek-type gun out of a phaser, though, think again. Phonons require a medium to travel through, unlike light-based lasers; this means that the phaser can't leave the confines of the device that's generating the phonons. The scientists involved in this project, though, are optimistic. They hope that others will build off of their work so that eventually this obstacle can be overcome, according to Wired.

While a stun gun may not be in the cards, there are plenty of other applications for the phaser. Its ultrasound frequencies could be used to scan objects or people for safety or medical purposes. In addition, it could be used for high-precision measurements or even to build tiny clocks.

The details of the phaser were published online in the Physical Review Letters.