Metal lumps in quantum state!

22.01.2026

Can a small lump of metal be in a quantum state that extends over distant locations?

Our team answers this question with a resounding yes. In the journal Nature, physicists from the University of Vienna and the University of Duisburg-Essen show that even massive nanoparticles consisting of thousands of sodium atoms follow the rules of quantum mechanics. The experiment is currently one of the best tests of quantum mechanics on a macroscopic scale.

Press release: https://www.univie.ac.at/en/news/press-room/press-releases/detail/metal-clumps-in-quantum-state-vienna-research-team-breaks-records

Original publication:
Pedalino, S., Ramírez-Galindo, B.E., Ferstl, R., Hornberger, K., Arndt, M. and Gerlich, S. 'Probing quantum mechanics with nanoparticle matter-wave interferometry', Nature (2025) 
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09917-9

 

 

CC: Sebastian Pedalino