Chip (IMAGE)
Caption
The magnetic field sensor is made up of a glass container embedded with caesium metal. The caesium evaporates into gas at room temperature and the gas atoms rise up into the small channel in the sensor head. Each caesium atom is like a tiny bar magnet. Now the sensor is held close to a nerve, which emits an electrical nerve pulse. The electrical pulse has a magnetic field that causes a change in the tilt of the axes of the caesium atoms and by sending a laser beam through the gas, you can read the ultra-small magnetic fields of the nerve signals.
Credit
Kasper Jensen, NBI
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