Exploring the Quantum World
Researchers at JPL and Caltech have developed an instrument for exploring the
cosmos and the quantum world.
This new type of amplifier boosts
electrical signals and can be used for everything from studying stars, galaxies
and black holes to exploring the quantum world and developing quantum computers.
An amplifier is a device that increases the strength of a weak
signal.
One of the key features of the new amplifier is that it
incorporates superconductors--materials that allow an electric current to flow
with zero resistance when lowered to certain temperatures. For their amplifier,
the researchers are using titanium nitride and niobium titanium nitride, which
have just the right properties to allow the pump signal to amplify the weak
signal.
Although the amplifier has a host of potential applications, the
reason the researchers built the device was to help them study the universe. The
team built the instrument to boost microwave signals, but the new design can be
used to build amplifiers that help astronomers observe in a wide range of
wavelengths, from radio waves to X-rays.
Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech