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Researchers at UC Berkeley, the Austrian Academy of Sciences, and Caltech propose a quantum gyrometer using superfluid helium to detect Earth’s subtle spacetime dragging. The device would cool helium‑four below two point one seven Kelvin, forming a friction‑free fluid in a doughnut‑shaped tube. Tiny changes in the fluid’s flow, sensed through a Josephson junction, could reveal the minute precession caused by Earth’s rotation. This laboratory approach complements space‑based missions and could refine tests of general relativity. The collaboration, detailed in a Physical Review Letters paper, highlights the growing intersection of quantum technology and fundamental physics. The project follows a tradition of precision gravity experiments, leveraging advances in superfluid helium research and quantum sensing. If successful, the sensor could become a new tool for probing spacetime dynamics and validating Einstein’s predictions in a controlled setting. The initiative underscores the potential for academic partnerships

By Nathan B. | JQJO News