Researchers have developed minuscule devices that use light to control movement in multiple directions, advancing the potential for light-powered spacecraft. The metajets, made from silicon, were tested in a lab setting and showed promising results for steering large sails through space. This breakthrough could help overcome current limitations in directing such vessels over vast distances.
Scientists at Texas A&M University created the metajet, a tiny silicon wafer about 0.01 millimetres across. It features a metasurface with microscopic pillars that refract light to generate controlled momentum. This allows the device to move both vertically and horizontally, unlike traditional light sails that rely mainly on reflection.