Researchers Show That Even Tiny Particles Of Metal Can Be Placed In A Quantum State, Pushing The Theory To Larger Objects

When researching quantum interference, scientists generally look at extraordinarily small things, including particles of light.

Researchers at the University of Vienna, however, have conducted an experiment where they put metallic nanoparticles into a state of quantum interference, and it worked.

The spheres that they used were between 5000 and 10,000 atoms of sodium, which measured about 8 nanometers in diameter. This is still really small, but they are by far the largest to be put into a quantum state.

While the spheres themselves are about half the size of a typical virus, they are much denser and more massive. The point of the experiment was to test interference similar to the double slit experiment used to show that some things are simultaneously particles and waves.

In the experiment, these particles were shown to be in two places at the same time, pushing the previous limits of this type of experiment. The nanoparticles were about 10 times larger than the previous nanoparticles used in this type of experiment.

In a statement about the study, lead author Sebastian Pedalino, who is also a doctoral student, said:

“Intuitively, one would expect such a large lump of metal to behave like a classical particle. The fact that it still interferes shows that quantum mechanics is valid even on this scale and does not require alternative models.”

The team is looking into conducting the experiment again with even larger objects, expanding the tests to include things that are hundreds of times larger than the current nanoparticles.

This will add further evidence that all objects are likely in states of quantum interference, but it is simply not noticed on the macro scale since we observe the settled averages of multiple states.

The study was published in the journal Nature and helps to add more evidence to the quantum theories that are already very popular.

If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about a quantum computer simulation that has “reversed time” and physics may never be the same.