In Japan, quantum spins shifted a 128-milligram object — ScienceAlert

Researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology in Japan recorded a mechanical displacement of a centimeter-scale object caused by the quantum spins of electrons. A setup weighing about 128 milligrams shifted by approximately 100 nanometers, ScienceAlert reports. The study results were published in the journal Science Advances.

A graphite plate and a diamond

The experiment was based on a centimeter-sized graphite plate levitating above a checkerboard arrangement of magnets. A 3-millimeter diamond with nitrogen-vacancy centers—atomic defects containing electrons with controllable spins—was suspended beneath the plate.

Scientists manipulated the spins in the diamond using laser light. Another magnet was used to convert the effect of the spins into movement of the setup. The displacement was about 100 nanometers—roughly one-thousandth of the thickness of a human hair.

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A classical response to a quantum force

The movement of the setup was classical, but it was caused by a quantum effect. Theoretical physicist Jason Twamley noted that the object in the experiment was eight to nine orders of magnitude more massive than objects in previous spin-mechanical experiments.

The researchers hope that this approach will eventually help work with larger objects in quantum states, including a state of superposition. Nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamonds are suitable for such research because they can preserve quantum superposition at room temperature for longer than many other systems.