Optodynamics treats optical manipulation as a superposition of time-developing wave motion induced by a light-matter interaction. When an opaque solid object is manipulated by a pulse of light, various types of mechanical waves are launched from the illuminated surface: ablation-induced waves (AIWs) resulting from material recoil, thermoelastic waves (TEWs), and the light-pressure-induced waves (LIWs) emanating exclusively due to radiation pressure. The manipulated object’s boundaries experience staircase-like displacements with discrete steps caused either by AIWs or LIWs each time these waves are reflected from the interfaces. On the contrary, TEWs cannot translate the center of mass of the manipulated object, but their presence can be inferred from the transient, bi-polar displacements around the equilibrium position.
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