Physicists and instrument makers in Leiden have succeeded in optimizing a spring that almost completely filters out vibrations at temperatures near absolute zero. This breakthrough opens the door to a new generation of highly sensitive experiments. The research is published in the journal Measurement Science and Technology.

“Our new special spring reduces the disruptive vibrations down to 0.185 hertz, which is a major improvement,” says Ph.D. candidate Louw Feenstra. Instrument makers Kees van Oosten and Hugo van Bohemen designed and built the new instrument in their workshop and tested it in the lab together with Feenstra.

Today, many—if not all—modern physics experiments are based on extremely precise measurements. Such measurements are often carried out inside a cryostat, a device that cools materials to temperatures as close as possible to absolute zero (0 Kelvin equals −273.15°C). Until now, cryostats had one major drawback: Their cooling systems generate strong vibrations, particularly around 1 hertz—roughly one vibration per second. For sensitive experiments, this can seriously affect the results.