In the laboratory of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, scientists have for the first time made the quantum spins of electrons in nitrogen-vacancy centres in diamond shift an object measuring a centimetre in size. The classical mechanical response to a quantum force was recorded on a mass exceeding previous records by eight to nine orders of magnitude.
A team led by Professor Jason Twamley of the Quantum Machines Unit at OIST in Japan used a diamond with nitrogen-vacancy centres, suspended on a carbon rod from a graphite plate. The plate was levitated above an array of magnets by means of the diamagnetic effect. A green laser with a power of 50 milliwatts pulsed light onto the diamond, polarising the electron spins in the NV centres and creating tiny magnetic fluctuations. These fluctuations pushed the diamond downwards, and an interferometer recorded the displacement of the graphite plate with picometre precision. The entire ensemble weighed about 128 milligrams, and the displacement reached one hundred nanometres.
The experiment was published on 7 October 2026 in the journal Science Advances. The results have been confirmed in the peer-reviewed publication and describe a classical response to the quantum force of the spins, rather than the superposition itself. NV centres were chosen for their long coherence time, which allows quantum states to be preserved at room temperature longer than in other systems.
Imagine a tiny compass whose needle turns under the influence of an invisible field and pushes an entire train: that is how the electron spins, each behaving like a miniature magnet, together shifted a macroscopic object. This is not merely signal amplification — it is a direct manifestation of a quantum effect in a regime where gravity is already noticeable.
The achievement opens the way to creating a macroscopic superposition and to direct tests of quantum gravity. The same principle can be used to build ultra-sensitive sensors for the search for dark matter and gravitational waves. The scientists note that the mass still needs to be increased by another order of magnitude to approach the regime where quantum effects become comparable to gravitational ones.
The results, published in Science Advances in October 2026, show that the boundary between the quantum and classical worlds has shifted by centimetres.
