14-billion-years-later: GoldenEarScientists have now made the most sensitive listening device ever using lasers and gold nanoparticles (double cool!). The device works by having one gold nanoparticle in a drop of water “trapped” by a laser. Nearby nanoparticles were then vibrated with a second laser which set up pressure waves in the drop that work like sound waves. The trapped nanoparticle then responded to these sound waves by vibrating and could be used to detect the signal generated. This mechanism can be used to “hear” sounds as low as -60 decibels, or about a millionth of what a human can hear. It’s hoped that in the future this technique could be used to listen in on the secret lives of bacteria and viruses.

14-billion-years-later:

GoldenEar

Scientists have now made the most sensitive listening device ever using lasers and gold nanoparticles (double cool!). The device works by having one gold nanoparticle in a drop of water “trapped” by a laser. Nearby nanoparticles were then vibrated with a second laser which set up pressure waves in the drop that work like sound waves. The trapped nanoparticle then responded to these sound waves by vibrating and could be used to detect the signal generated. This mechanism can be used to “hear” sounds as low as -60 decibels, or about a millionth of what a human can hear. It’s hoped that in the future this technique could be used to listen in on the secret lives of bacteria and viruses.