Think of the possibilities if you could manipulate matter at the smallest scale: with an atom-sized tweezer biologists could tug and play around with individual molecules, studying their properties at an unprecedented scale. But how would one even capture and move something as small as a single molecule? It is made possible by laser light: Even the tiniest specs of matter can be trapped through the forces exerted by the light of a tightly focused laser beam. Optical tweezers have revolutionized our ability to manipulate matter on a microscopic level, opening up new avenues for scientific research and technology.

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