Balancing the beam: Thermomechanical micromachine detects terahertz radiation

Radiation from many parts of the electromagnetic spectrum has been harnessed for extremely beneficial uses, in fields as diverse as medicine, imaging and photography, and astronomy. However, the terahertz (THz) region of the spectrum, situated between microwaves and infrared light, has been relatively underutilized owing to difficulties in generating such radiation artificially and in building devices to detect it.

* This article was originally published here