The main challenge to building a tractor beam is pretty intuitive.

FORBES: Scientists Build A Working Tractor Beam

The main appeal of using an energy beam to shoot things is that it travels at the speed of light, which means, in practice, that it will hit whatever it is aimed at.

ECONOMIST: Energy weapons: Zap, crackle and pop | The

If the likes of Messrs Thackara and Frayn have helped to illuminate the nuclear drama by spotlighting its main actors, Ms Wiggins has also done a literary service in throwing her beam on the bit players.

ECONOMIST: New American fiction

To counteract data loss, Main.net's cofounder and head scientist, Schaike Zalitsky , built on techniques used to beam cell phone calls through the noisy air.

FORBES: Technology