Ashkin, Arthur

Arthur Ashkin, (born September 2, 1922, New York City, New York—died September 21, 2020, Rumson, New Jersey), American physicist who was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize for Physics for his invention of optical tweezers, which use laser beams to capture and manipulate very small objects. He shared the prize with Canadian physicist Donna Strickland and French physicist Gérard Mourou. At the time of his award, Ashkin was the oldest person to receive the Nobel Prize; however, the next year, he was surpassed by American physicist John B. Goodenough, who won the 2019 Nobel Prize for Physics at the age of 97.

Ashkin received a bachelor’s degree in physics from Columbia University in New York City in 1947 and a doctorate in nuclear physics from Cornell University in 1952. He then joined Bell Laboratories, first at Murray Hill, New Jersey, and then at Holmdel, New Jersey, where he spent the last part of his career until he retired in 1992.

In 1970 Ashkin used laser beams to trap and move small transparent beads. These beads ranged in size from 0.59 to 2.68 microns (1 micron = 10⁻⁶ metre). When Ashkin shone a laser beam on such beads that were suspended in water, he found that the beads were both drawn into the centre of the beam and pushed along by the beam. By using two beams of equal intensity aimed at each other, he could trap a bead.

Ashkin and colleagues in 1986 invented optical tweezers, which used a single laser that was focused by a lens to trap particles. Ashkin’s coworker, Steven Chu, who also worked at Bell Laboratories, used this technique to trap single atoms. (Chu was awarded the 1997 Nobel Prize for Physics for this work.)

Ashkin, however, was interested in using the optical tweezers to study cells, viruses, and bacteria. He switched from a green to an infrared laser, which had a less intense beam and thus would not damage the life he was studying. He used his optical tweezers to study the force that molecules used to move organelles in cells. Optical tweezers have become a widely used method to study microscopic life and its molecular systems without damaging them.