Scientists have built a qubit, or quantum bit, that can achieve “quantum coherence” at room temperature — something normally only possible at temperatures close to absolute zero.
To achieve quantum coherence — a stable state in which the weird laws of quantum mechanics can be observed — qubits must normally be cooled down to minus 459 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 273 degrees Celsius) or they succumb to disturbances and fail, which is known as decoherence.
To get around this, the new qubit used a pentacene-based chromophore — a dye molecule that absorbs light and emits color — embedded into a new metal-organic framework (MOF). Its properties meant scientists could observe quantum coherence briefly at room temperature, the scientists said in a new paper published Jan. 3 in the journal Science Advances.
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