Probing the Laws of Gravity: A Gravity Resonance Method

[ Florian Aigner - Quantum mechanical methods can now be used to study gravity: At the Vienna University of Technology (TU Vienna), a measurement method was developed, which allows to test the fundamental theories of physics. The world's most precise measurement methods are based on quantum physics. Atomic clocks or high-resolution magnetic resonance, which is used in medicine, rely on accurate measurements of quantum leaps: A particle excited at exactly the right frequency changes its quantum state ' this is called 'resonance spectroscopy'. Up until now, this method has only been used employing electromagnetic radiation. Researchers at TU Vienna have now developed a resonance method, which for the first time does not use electromagnetism, but the force of gravity. Gravity creates several possible quantum states for neutrons. The Gravity Resonance Method now allows to induce and accurately measure transitions between these states.