A new antenna using single atoms could usher in the age of atomic radio Rydberg atoms have been studied to death for well over half a century, and this is another of those fundamental discoveries that is so simple it makes you go Duh! They've figure out how to make an all optical radio using a little tube full of highly excited atoms which then "feel" any electromagnetic waves passing by. An ordinary radio antenna absorbs the electromagnetic waves, but this one sort of feels them with its own active electromagnetic field. The best analogy would be they have invented the first radio tube that can contain a single atom if you want, and they shine a laser into the tube to excite the atom and to read its response to passing radio waves. The laser setup will take at least a few years to shrink down to significantly smaller sizes, but laser technology could not be advancing faster right now if they tried. This radio can receive AM and FM with significantly less interference and if lightening strikes a radio tower or right outside your house it can't damage the radio. That means they might even possibly use this to isolate electric grids in the place of transformers, but that remains to be seen. My point is, this is a technology to keep a close eye on because it has the real potential to replace every internet connection, cable tv, and radio in the country and is poised to redefine electronics and optics. If they can figure out the thermodynamics as well, we could be look at a basic next generation Star Trek technology in the making.
