Researchers in Finland have measured an energy signal smaller than one zeptojoule using a new calorimeter. The achievement opens pathways for improved quantum computing and searches for dark matter.
Academy Professor Mikko Möttönen led the team at Aalto University, working with IQM and the Technical Research Centre of Finland. They built the device from superconducting and normal-conducting metals that respond to minute temperature shifts. The sensor registered an electromagnetic pulse of 0.83 zeptojoules after careful filtering of microwave signals. This marks the first calorimetric measurement at such sensitivity, according to the researchers.
