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Physics

Quantum 'Schrödinger's cat' survives for a stunning 23 minutes

A typically fragile quantum superposition has been made to last exceptionally long, and could eventually be used as a probe for discovering new physics

By Karmela Padavic-Callaghan

28 October 2024

The unknowable aliveness of Schrödinger’s cat is key to more stable quantum devices

Olivia ZZ/Getty Images

Quantum superpositions are typically fragile and fleeting, but one such state has now been maintained for a record-breaking 23 minutes. Keeping quantum states stable for this long could help make more robust quantum devices, or lead to discoveries of strange new effects in quantum physics.

This long-lived phenomenon is known as a cat state, named for Erwin Schrödinger’s famous thought experiment where a cat is placed in…

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