Today’s stories from the Australian Institute of Physics Congress in Adelaide.
We’ve made a new comb: introducing the world’s most accurate ruler
For fast internet, finding planets, detecting explosives and earthquakes and more
A new centre led by RMIT in Melbourne are creating the microcombs, tiny devices that can precisely measure the colour (frequency) of light and switch information between light waves and radio waves.
Their microcombs will cost just a few dollars to make and will replace optical combs that are large, cost a million dollars and require constant attention from a team of scientists.
Their microcombs have already enabled the world’s fastest internet connection from a single chip. Now they plan to use them:
- to track the slightest changes in stars over decade, revealing new planets
- to detect subtle changes in the composition of the atmosphere
- to sniff out explosives at airports
- detect earthquakes using the internet cables under Melbourne’s streets
- transform biomedical imaging, industrial automation and machine learning to name just a few.
They’ve just been awarded $35 million to establish The ARC Centre of Excellence in Optical Microcombs and Breakthrough Science (COMBS) partnering with eight universities and 23 global partners. Centre Director Arnan Mitchell is
