NPL, Imperial College create room-temperature maser, promise more sensitive beams

Masers, or microwave lasers, have rarely been as viable as their regular counterparts; they need temperatures near absolute zero, exotic vacuum chambers or strong magnets just to run at all, which safely rules out carrying a maser as a pocket pointer. The National Physical Laboratory and Imperial College London might put that gap in practicality to bed after developing a maser that can run at room temperatures. Instead of using ruby to boost the microwave strength, the scientists rely on a less pronounceable p-terphenyl crystal treated with pentacene that can handle ordinary amounts of heat.

Engadget , NPL, Imperial College create room-temperature maser, promise more sensitive beams, NPL, Imperial College create room-temperature maser, promise more sensitive beams