More information: Noah Schlossberger et al, Primary quantum thermometry of mm-wave blackbody radiation via induced state transfer in Rydberg states of cold atoms, Physical Review Research (2025).

Meinert and his colleagues use their tweezers to study Rydberg atoms that have electrons excited to high energy quantum states, up to 10,000 times farther away from atomic cores than normal.

As blackbody radiation increases, electrons in Rydberg atoms transition to even higher energy states. Since rising temperatures amplify this effect, researchers can determine temperature by ...