Researchers propose way to "see" gravity for the first time

Bottom line: For decades, physicists have been trying to solve one of the greatest mysteries in science: how gravity operates at the smallest scales governed by quantum mechanics. While we have theories explaining gravity's effects on large objects like planets and stars, we still don't fully understand how it functions at the subatomic level. The leading idea is that gravity arises from the exchange of hypothetical "graviton" particles, much like electromagnetism arises from the exchange of photons.

However, gravitons have always been considered too difficult to observe because they interact with matter very weakly, similar to neutrinos. Recently, a team of researchers led by Igor Pikovski published a paper in Nature Communications demonstrating how gravitons might be experimentally detectable using quantum sensing techniques. In other words, scientists may soon be able to "see" gravity.



Pikovski's team realized they could adapt an old physics concept – the photoelectric effect, first...

Zo Ahmed.