Doctor Who’s famous sonic screwdriver may be an invention of science fiction, but a team of scientists at the Australian National University could help to make it a reality.

Physicists Marcus Doherty and Michael Barson have created a prototype for a handheld device that will be able to analyse an object’s chemical properties, similar to the device used on the TV show.

Dr Doherty, who had been working with quantum microscopes for the past 10 years, said the idea for the device came about after realising it would be possible to combine the technology with diamond nanobeads.

“It’s very close to the idea of an MRI image of a single molecule that will give us the ability to identify what is in that molecule,” he said.

“Quantum microscopes is an amazing technology where we can use an individual atom to detect what’s in its environment.”

The physicist and lead researcher said the technology would be able to be used across a wide range of scientific fields, from biology to medicine.

He said it would allow scientists to have a greater understanding of what they are working with.

“Imagine a doctor has a medical sample and they want to know what proteins are in it. They can put the sample into the device and be able to identify the different proteins and the relative concentrations of it,” Dr Doherty said.

“A biologist can use it for similar reasons or environment scientists can use it for a chemical analysis of a field sample.”

The technology used in the prototype device is based on the same technology used in atomic clocks, as well as gravitational wave detectors.

Doctor Who’s famous sonic screwdriver may be an invention of science fiction, but a team of scientists at the Australian National University could help to make it a reality.

Physicists Marcus Doherty and Michael Barson have created a prototype for a handheld device that will be able to analyse an object’s chemical properties, similar to the device used on the TV show.
ANU physicists Marcus Doherty (left) and Michael Barson have come up with a design for a device that can analyse an object’s chemical properties. Photo: ANU
Dr Doherty, who had been working with quantum microscopes for the past 10 years, said the idea for the device came about after realising it would be possible to combine the technology with diamond nanobeads.

“It’s very close to the idea of an MRI image of a single molecule that will give us the ability to identify what is in that molecule,” he said.

“Quantum microscopes is an amazing technology where we can use an individual atom to detect what’s in its environment.”

The physicist and lead researcher said the technology would be able to be used across a wide range of scientific fields, from biology to medicine.

He said it would allow scientists to have a greater understanding of what they are working with.

“Imagine a doctor has a medical sample and they want to know what proteins are in it. They can put the sample into the device and be able to identify the different proteins and the relative concentrations of it,” Dr Doherty said.

“A biologist can use it for similar reasons or environment scientists can use it for a chemical analysis of a field sample.”

The technology used in the prototype device is based on the same technology used in atomic clocks, as well as gravitational wave defectors.

Co-researcher Mr Barson said the handheld device would use tiny defects in a diamond to measure the chemical make-up of a molecule.

“When a molecule attaches to the diamond device, its mass changes, which changes the frequency,” he said.

“We measure the change in frequency using the defects in the diamond.”

While Dr Doherty said the pair’s research has been a “small leap forward”, it will be several years until the device will become a workable reality.

However, he said once that happened, it would make scientific work a lot easier.

“It will be portable and it will also be much cheaper and robust,” he said.

“The point of that will be it will make the technology more distributable and more people will have access to the analysis and advanced science.”