METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR NON-CONTACT AXIAL PARTICLE ROTATION AND DECOUPLED PARTICLE PROPULSION
First Claim
1. An apparatus for rotating and translating at least one particle, the apparatus comprising:
- means for generating magnetic force and torque; and
at least one particle, wherein at least some portion of the at least one particle contains a magnetizable material,wherein the generated magnetic force is applied to at least some portion of the at least one particle to cause translational motion of the particle,wherein the generated magnetic torque is applied to at least some other portion of the same at least one particle to cause rotation of the particle, andwherein the ratio of the translational and rotational velocities of the particle is variable.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method for magnetic particle manipulation enables the particle to be rotated and translated independently using magnetic fields and field gradients, which produce the desired decoupled translational and rotational motion. The apparatus and the method for manipulation may be implemented in parallel, involving many particles. The rotational magnetic field used to induce rotational motion may be varied to induce particle motion, which is either in phase or out of phase with the rotational magnetic field. The magnetic fields and gradients described herein may be generated with permanent magnets, electromagnets, or some combination of permanent magnets and electromagnets.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An apparatus for rotating and translating at least one particle, the apparatus comprising:
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means for generating magnetic force and torque; and at least one particle, wherein at least some portion of the at least one particle contains a magnetizable material, wherein the generated magnetic force is applied to at least some portion of the at least one particle to cause translational motion of the particle, wherein the generated magnetic torque is applied to at least some other portion of the same at least one particle to cause rotation of the particle, and wherein the ratio of the translational and rotational velocities of the particle is variable. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for rotating and translating at least one particle, the method comprising:
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generating and applying a magnetic force and torque upon at least one particle, wherein the at least one particle includes at least two segments, each of which contains a magnetizable material; applying the magnetic force to at least one segment in order to cause translational motion of the particle; applying the magnetic torque to at least one other segment in order to cause rotational motion of the particle, wherein a ratio of the resultant translational and rotational velocities of the particle is variable. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification