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Nature 440, 617-618 (30 March 2006) | doi:10.1038/440617a; Published online 29 March 2006

Open Innovation Challenges

Quantum metrology: Size isn't everything

Samuel L. Braunstein1

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From probing living cells under a microscope to scanning the heavens for gravity waves, the limitations of precision measurements constrain our capacity to discover more about the world. But what exactly are those limits?

Just how accurate can measurements get? Whereas classical physics places no fundamental limits on how well we can do, in the quantum world it's a different story.

  1. Samuel L. Braunstein is in the Department of Computer Science, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK.
    Email: schmuel@cs.york.ac.uk