Compact chip containing Hall-effect sensor can pick up faint magnetic fields by generating a tiny voltage without increasing noise output
2-MIN READ2-MINZhang Tongin BeijingPublished: 11:00am, 15 Aug 2026Picture a fisherman hauling in his nets on a calm morning at sea, when his smartwatch suddenly vibrates with an alert: “Magnetic anomaly detected – possible submarine passing 500 metres below.”Far‑fetched as it sounds, Chinese scientists have just taken a decisive step towards making that scenario real.
Their findings, published on July 17 in the journal Physical Review Letters, shatter a decades-old sensitivity-versus-noise trade-off that has kept everyday magnetic sensors from hearing the quietest signals.
But until now, shrinking them and making them more sensitive came with a punishing side‑effect: more noise, much like cranking up a radio’s volume also amplifies the hiss.
