New Scientist: To probe space and time at the very smallest scales, researchers at Fermilab have built a holographic interferometer, or holometer. At the quantum level, matter and energy behave more like waves than particles. The researchers propose that a similar concept may apply to space and time. Their device consists of two 40-meter-long tubes fitted with mirrors through which they shine powerful lasers. If both sets of mirrors are seen to change position as much as a billionth of a billionth of a meter, it could indicate the existence of fluctuations in the fabric of space. If such a spacetime jitter exists, it would present another explanation of why the universe is accelerating besides the current one involving dark energy.
