(ORDO NEWS) — Quantum mechanics deals with the behavior of the universe on an ultra-small scale: atoms and subatomic particles act in ways that classical physics cannot explain.
To explore this contradiction between quantum and classical, scientists are constantly trying to get bigger and bigger objects to behave in a quantum-like way.
Back in 2021, the team managed to create a tiny glass nanosphere 100 nanometers in diameter. about a thousand times smaller than the thickness of a human hair.
In our opinion, this is very, very small, but from the point of view of quantum physics, it is actually quite a lot, consisting of up to 10 million atoms.
The introduction of such a nanosphere into the field of quantum mechanics was a huge achievement.
Using carefully calibrated laser beams, the nanosphere was suspended in its lowest quantum mechanical state, one of the extremely limited motions at which quantum behavior can begin.
“This is the first time this method has been used. manage the quantum state of a macroscopic object in free space,” said Lukas Nowotny, professor of photonics at ETH Zurich in Switzerland, back in July 2021.
To achieve quantum states, movement and energy must be dialed straight down. Novotny and colleagues used a vacuum container chilled to -269 degrees Celsius (-452 degrees Fahrenheit) and then used a feedback system to further tune.
Using the interference patterns generated by the two laser beams, the researchers calculated the exact position of the nanosphere inside its chamber and from there the fine adjustments needed to bring the object’s motion closer to zero using the electric field generated by the two electrodes.
It’s not that different from slowing down a playground swing by pushing and pulling it until it stops. Once this lowest quantum mechanical state has been reached, further experiments can begin.
“In order to clearly see quantum effects, the nanosphere needs to be slowed down … to its moving ground state,” said Felix, an electrical engineer. Tebbenjohanns from ETH Zurich at the time.
“This means that we freeze the energy of the sphere’s movement to a minimum, which is close to the quantum mechanical movement of the zero point.”
Although similar results had been achieved before, they used a so-called optical resonator to balance objects with light.
The approach taken here better protects the nanosphere from disturbances and means that the object can be viewed in isolation after the laser is turned off, although this will require a lot of further research.
The researchers hope their findings can be useful in studying how quantum mechanics makes elementary particles behave like waves.
It is possible that ultra-sensitive facilities such as this nanosphere could also help develop next-generation sensors that are superior to anything we have today.
The ability to lift such a large sphere into the air in a cryogenic environment represents a significant leap. to the macroscopic scale, where one can study the line between classical and quantum mechanics.
“Together with the fact that the potential of the optical trap is well controlled, our experimental platform offers a path to the study of quantum mechanics at the macroscopic level. scale,” the researchers concluded in their published paper.
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