# Spinning micromagnet demonstrates pressure sensing at 4.2 Kelvin

_Published Monday, November 9, 2026 at 1:42 PM EST · Science · Latest · Tier 2 — Notable_

![Spinning micromagnet demonstrates pressure sensing at 4.2 Kelvin — Primary](https://scx2.b-cdn.net/gfx/news/hires/2026/the-fastest-levitated.jpg)

Researchers demonstrated a levitated spinning micromagnet as a pressure sensor at 4.2 Kelvin, extending a measurement method whose previously reported lowest operating temperature was 77 Kelvin. The Science Advances study operated the sensor at pressures down to 10⁻⁸ mbar.

The team suspended magnetic spheres in a superconducting lead trap and used magnetic coils to accelerate them to 2.3 million revolutions per second. Their measured slowdown implied a characteristic speed-decay time of about 24 days. The pressure measurements could help characterize cold vacuum environments used in quantum technologies. A separate preliminary dark-matter search covered only a very narrow frequency range and found no related signatures.

## Sources

- [Phys.org](https://phys.org/news/2026-11-fastest-levitated-magnet-physicists-dark.html)

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Canonical: https://techandbusiness.org/newswire/cmvUe0PzTQB0Wn7dQs2WYf
Published: 2026-11-09T18:42:43.581Z
Story chronology: 2026-11-09T17:30:01.000Z
Retrieved: 2026-11-09T20:57:20.458Z
Publisher: Tech & Business (techandbusiness.org)