Quantum physicists just supersized Schrödinger’s cat

image via New Scientist

January 25, 2026, 12:00 PM

• •Experiment used clusters of around 7,000 atoms in a superposition.
• •The experiment helps answer the question of the transition between quantum and classical mechanics.
• •Quantum computers will need to maintain millions of objects in a quantum state to perform useful calculations.
• •The team is working on putting biological matter through the same experimental set-up.

Physicists have created the largest ever 'superposition' using clusters of thousands of atoms, pushing the boundaries of quantum mechanics. This experiment explores the transition between quantum and classical worlds, with potential implications for quantum computing. The study, described in Nature, demonstrates that quantum mechanics still applies at a larger scale. The team aims to further scale up the experiment, potentially with biological matter, to move quantum interference into a new regime.

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