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Scientists Discover Way to Send Information into Black Holes Without Using Energy

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This Tiny Rotor Keeps Spinning for 10 Hours Even After Its Power Is Switched Off Could Change GPS-Free Navigation

Researchers in Singapore have developed a tiny rotor that can keep spinning for more than 10 hours after its driving force is switched off. The millimeter-scale device, created by scientists at the ASTAR Quantum Innovation Center (ASTAR Q.InC), has achieved the lowest energy loss ever reported for a mechanical rotor of its size.

The breakthrough could lead to highly sensitive gyroscopes and other precision sensors for situations where GPS is unavailable. Potential applications include underwater vehicles, underground navigation systems and autonomous machines operating in challenging environments.

The study, published in Nature Communications, addresses a major problem that has limited the performance of levitated mechanical systems: energy loss caused by magnetic effects.

A Tiny Rotor With Remarkable Stability

Mechanical rotors normally lose energy because of friction, air resistance and other forces. Even when a rotor is levitated so that it does not physically touch a surface, it can still lose energy through electromagnetic effects.

The A*STAR team tackled this problem using diamagnetic levitation. This technique allows an object to float without physical contact by using magnetic forces. However, conventional diamagnetic levitation can produce what are known as eddy currents. These electrical currents consume energy and gradually slow down the moving object.

The researchers found a clever way around this challenge: rotational symmetry.

As the rotor spins around its central axis, it sees almost the same magnetic environment during every rotation. Because the magnetic field experienced by the rotor changes very little as it turns, the eddy currents that normally cause energy loss are greatly reduced.

This simple but powerful principle allowed the researchers to dramatically improve the rotor's stability.

According to the team, the energy loss associated with the rotor's spinning motion was around 100,000 times lower than the loss experienced during its sideways and vertical movements.

The researchers measured a dissipation rate of just 3.85 microhertz, which they report as the lowest recorded for a mechanical rotor at the millimeter scale.

Why Low Energy Loss Matters

A mechanical system that loses very little energy can remain stable for a long time. This is particularly valuable for precision sensors, because even tiny changes in motion can contain important information.

"If a rotor loses energy quickly, its movement becomes less stable and harder to measure accurately," explained Dr. Xianfeng Chen, scientist at A*STAR Q.InC and lead principal investigator of the study.

The new platform helps overcome a long-standing trade-off. Larger mechanical systems can interact more strongly with weak signals, making them attractive for sensing applications. However, keeping larger systems stable has traditionally been difficult.

The A*STAR team's approach shows that a relatively large mechanical rotor can achieve extremely low energy loss while remaining useful for precision measurements.

The researchers also see possibilities beyond conventional sensing. A highly stable mechanical system could provide a platform for studying quantum behavior in larger objects, an area of growing interest in quantum science.

The Rotor Spins for More Than 10 Hours

The researchers tested the device as a gyroscope, a sensor that detects changes in orientation.

Gyroscopes are already widely used in navigation systems. They are particularly important when GPS signals cannot be relied upon. By measuring changes in rotation and orientation, a gyroscope can help a vehicle determine how it is moving.

For the experiment, the team used real-time control and carefully applied electrostatic forces to accelerate the rotor to 930 revolutions per minute.

The impressive part came after the driving force was removed.

Operating in a high-vacuum environment, the rotor continued spinning for more than 10 hours. Its exceptionally low energy loss allowed it to maintain its motion for an extended period.

The resulting stability enabled the system to detect rotations as slow as 0.0065 degrees per second. This places its demonstrated sensitivity within the commercial-grade range for gyroscopic sensing.

Computer modeling suggests that further improvements could potentially bring the technology into the more demanding navigation-grade range.

A Future for Navigation Without GPS

Reliable navigation without GPS is becoming increasingly important.

Underwater vehicles, for example, cannot normally depend on GPS while submerged. Underground vehicles and machines may also operate in environments where satellite signals are blocked or unavailable.

A highly stable gyroscope could help such systems maintain an accurate estimate of their direction and movement for longer periods.

Autonomous underwater vehicles are one potential application. These machines can be used for ocean research, infrastructure inspection and other tasks where accurate navigation is essential.

The technology could also have applications in other precision sensing systems where detecting extremely small changes in movement or rotation is important.

A Rare Combination of Capabilities

The A*STAR platform brings together several features that are difficult to achieve in a single mechanical system.

It provides millimeter-scale passive levitation, operates at room temperature, reaches high spinning speeds and delivers exceptionally low rotational energy loss.

Together, these characteristics create a promising foundation for next-generation sensing technology.

Professor Lam Ping Koy, ASTAR chief quantum scientist who leads ASTAR Q.InC, said the work demonstrates how fundamental scientific research can contribute to strategically important technological capabilities for Singapore.

The project also highlights the value of combining different areas of expertise. Researchers worked across advanced control systems, levitation physics, precision engineering and sensing to create the platform.

What Comes Next?

The current achievement is an important research milestone, but the technology still needs further development before it can become a widely used commercial product.

The team plans to increase the rotor's spinning speed, improve its stability and reduce the size and complexity of the supporting systems.

The long-term goal is to develop an affordable and commercially viable sensor platform that can be used for real-world navigation.

If successful, the technology could provide a new generation of highly stable gyroscopes capable of helping vehicles navigate in places where GPS cannot.

More broadly, the research demonstrates how solving a fundamental physics problem—reducing energy loss—can open the door to practical technologies.

A tiny rotor that quietly keeps spinning for hours may therefore become more than a scientific curiosity. It could form the foundation of precision sensors that help machines find their way through oceans, underground environments and other GPS-denied locations.

Reference: Chen, X., Raj, N., Lecamwasam, R. et al. Levitated macroscopic rotors with 10 hours of free spin at room temperature. Nat Commun (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-75188-1

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