Doctor Who’s sonic screwdriver replicated… sort of

If you’re a fan of popular British science fiction show, Doctor Who, you know no act is too ‘out there’. Fans of Doctor Who will do anything and believe in anything. So it’s not surprising that Scottish scientists have replicated the Doctor’s signature sonic screwdriver, reports Gizmodo.

A sonic screwdriver you ask? Part Tricorder and part lock-picker, the Doctor’s screwdriver is an all-in-one device that can do anything.

Doctor Who is a television show that follows the adventures of a Time Lord, a time-travelling, humanoid alien, known only as the Doctor, who explores the universe in a sentient, telepathic time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior appears as a blue police box.

According to the report from Gizmodo, scientists from Dundee University in Scottland have replicated some of the functionalities of the screwdriver’s with a “machine capable of lifting and turning suspended objects”.

The device is able to raise and turn disks suspended in a water-filled tube using ultrasound. It is reportedly the first ultrasound device able to do more than just push objects but rotate them. The device “designed so that the momentum generated either forms a pushing beam or a rotating helix”.

“This experiment not only confirms a fundamental physics theory but also demonstrates a new level of control over ultrasound beams which can also be applied to non-invasive ultrasound surgery, targeted drug delivery and ultrasonic manipulation of cells,” explains Dr. Mike MacDonald of the Institute for Medical Science and Technology (IMSAT).

This technology could prove very useful for modern medicine where ultrasound treatment is being applied.

“The sonic screwdriver device is also part of the EU-funded nanoporation project where we are already starting to push the boundaries of what ultrasound can do in terms of targeted drug delivery and targeted cellular surgery,” MacDonald added that the team’s findings will be printed in the American Physical Society’s journal

Very cool, yes, but can it pick a lock or manipulate the Medusa Casacade? No, it cannot, but it is cool nonetheless and a great advancement in ultrasound technology. I want one.

Kudos for finding this, Gizmodo.