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Physics

A macroscopic amount of matter has been put in a quantum superposition

Researchers have put a sapphire crystal containing quadrillions of atoms into a superposition of quantum states, bringing quantum effects into the macroscopic world

By Leah Crane

12 April 2023

The sapphire crystal resonator used by ETH researchers to probe the validity of quantum mechanics in objects consisting of trillions of atoms.?(Image: ETH Zurich)

The sapphire crystal resonator used to probe the limits of quantum mechanics

Matteo Fadel/ETH Zurich

Quantum effects have been demonstrated on one of the largest scales ever, pushing the boundaries of the quantum world. A crystal of 10^16 atoms has been placed in a superposition of two quantum states, breaking the previous record of only 2000 atoms.

When a particle is in a quantum superposition of two states, it occupies both distinct states at the same time – the most famous example is Schrödinger’s cat, in which a theoretical cat in …

Article amended on 21 April 2023

We have corrected how the highest macroscopicity of any quantum experiment was achieved.

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