Optical Thermal Ratchet
- 27 February 1995
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review Letters
- Vol. 74 (9) , 1504-1507
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.74.1504
Abstract
We present an optical realization of a thermal ratchet. Directed motion of Brownian particles in water is induced by modulating in time a spatially periodic but asymmetric optical potential. The net drift shows a maximum as a function of the modulation period. The experimental results agree with a simple theoretical model based on diffusion.Keywords
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