Sound is more than something you hear: it’s a physical force that can push, pull, and even levitate objects. In this talk, I’ll explain how scientists and engineers use sound waves to move things too small to see with the naked eye.

I’ll start with something almost magical: sound waves powerful enough to float a plastic ball in mid-air, suspending it against gravity using nothing but vibrations. From there, I’ll introduce you to the world of microfluidics, where sound is used to sort and steer living cells with remarkable precision through channels narrower than a human hair.

Finally, I’ll tell you how surface acoustic waves, vibrations that ripple across a solid surface, play an essential role in your cell phone. In my own lab we’ve discovered how to use them to slide ultra-thin sheets of material along a surface. Rotating or stretching such sheets could unlock new electrical, magnetic, and optical material properties.