Physicists from Stuttgart detect nuclear spin signals in a few nanometers of small oil droplets
A new sensor made from diamond is small and sensitive enough to detect the magnetic field of nuclear spins in a volume as small as few nanometers. This is reported independently by two research teams in the latest issue of "Science". One team involves groups from the universities of Stuttgart and Bochum /Germany with additional partners, the other one is located at the IBM research center Almaden / California. This breakthrough could lead to the development of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner operating at the nanoscale.
Such a device can be thought of as a powerful microscope, able to acquire three-dimensional images of single molecules. It could trigger a revolution in biology, medicine and material science alike.
