Tiny compasses could improve navigation, brain imaging and more

A team of physicists and engineers at the CU Boulder has discovered a new way to measure the orientation of magnetic fields using what may be the tiniest compasses around—atoms. The group’s findings could one day lead to a host of new quantum sensors, from devices that map out the activity of the human brain to others that could help airplanes navigate the globe. The new study, published this month in the journal Optica, stems from a collaboration between physicist Cindy Regal and quantum engineer Svenja Knappe.