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Researchers in the UK have created Star Trek like tractor beams to levitate objects.

The beams are high amplitude sound waves that are turned on and off to push and pull at objects. The levitation is achieved by creating a region of low pressure within which an object remains. The principle of working is based on the fact that sound exerts pressure when it travels through a medium like air, not unlike the thumping felt when sitting before a loudspeaker, CBS News reports.

"We all know that sound waves can have a physical effect. But here we have managed to control the sound to a degree never previously achieved," said Bruce Drinkwater, Professor of Ultrasonics in the University of Bristol's Department of Mechanical Engineering, in a press release.

To create the levitation field, researchers used 64 mini loudspeakers that produced waves of around 150 decibel in intensity. Other properties of sound waves determined the dimensions of the low pressure zone. By controlling the release of waves, researchers created what is called an acoustic hologram to levitate objects and control their movement.

While simple, creating functional patterns of sound waves to control objects is not easy. Through their work, researchers could identify three suitable patterns.

The proof of concept device levitates polystyrene balls measuring just 0.2 inches but researchers are kicked about future potential applications.

"Single-beam levitation could manipulate particles inside our body for applications in targeted drug delivery or acoustically controlled micro-machines that do not interfere with magnetic resonance imaging," they wrote in the journal Nature Communications.