This new type of microscope allows us to observe biological structures previously unthinkable. And it opens up a real technological revolution.
That man needs to explore and analyze everything that escapes his reach is certainly no secret. From space travel to those in the depths of the Earth, the adventures in the name of science are countless, and can go even in microcosms that before was absolutely impossible to have the opportunity to observe.
Not surprisingly, with a technological leap destined to go down in history, some researchers at the University of Queensland have managed to create the first quantum microscope capable of detecting biological structures that otherwise would not be possible to see. An instrument that somehow “opens” to things previously unthinkable, and that makes way for applications in the field of biotechnology and could extend even further, in areas ranging from navigation, computer science, passing even for imaging in the medical field.
To power the microscope, experts have opted for a technology known as quantum entanglement, an effect that had already been described by Einstein as “spectral interactions at a distance”. Warwick Bowen, one of the project leaders and a researcher at the Quantum Optics Lab, said it was the first such sensor ever built and put into operation, capable of delivering performance beyond the best existing technology:
This breakthrough will stimulate all kinds of new technologies, from better navigation systems to more precise MRI machines. We’re at the center of a quantum revolution with entanglement, having shown that sensors using it can replace existing traditional technology.
Currently, the best optical microscopes around use high-frequency light lasers that are billions of times brighter than the sun – but they don’t produce the same level of energy as China’s first artificial sun. The most fragile biological systems, such as human cells, are not able to survive exposure of this magnitude for long. Thanks to quantum entanglement, this new type of microscope is able to overcome this long-standing problem, providing scientists with a view improved by about 35%, without destroying the cell structure.
In this way, you will understand, the doors of microcosm are practically wide open, exposing to our eyes tiny biological structures that would otherwise be invisible, with all the consequent and obvious advantages in the understanding of living systems and in the optimization of diagnostic technologies.
The Quantum Technologies Roadmap then aims to stimulate, through the deployment of quantum sensors, a new wave of innovation in healthcare, engineering, transportation and resources more generally. Their research, published in the authoritative journal Nature, is the first step toward what must and will be a wide-ranging technological revolution, likely destined to change the world of computing, communication and sensing, with opportunities that today seem potentially limitless.
Andrea Guerriero