Scientists at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) have achieved a major advance in energy transfer, demonstrating that energy can move between microscopic particles over distances measured in millimetres without being lost as heat or light. The research team, led by Professor Jaime Gómez Rivas alongside researchers Jie Ji and Wouter Holman, developed a surface made of precisely arranged gold nanorods that enables highly efficient energy transfer. Their findings were published in Science Advances and challenge long-held assumptions about the distance over which radiation-free energy movement can occur. The result could have significant implications for quantum communication, solar energy technologies, chemical engineering, and next-generation medical sensors. By extending the range of coherent energy transfer far beyond previously accepted limits, the work opens new possibilities for controlling energy at the nanoscale. The importance of energy transfer In most systems, energy absorbed by a molecule is eventually released into its surroundings as heat or emitted as light. A special phenomenon known as Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) works differently. Instead of radiating away, energy moves directly from one …