Quantum Physics on the Macroscopic Level

(University of Geneva, July 25, 2013)

Quantum physics relates to the world of the infinitely small. Researchers at the University of Geneva, who have long tried to observe quantum properties on a greater or macroscopic level, have succeeded in entangling two optical fibers populated by 500 light particles (photons). This achievement, published in Nature Physics, provides a partial answer to the fundamental question of whether quantum properties can survive at the macroscopic level. Physical rules that apply at the atomic level are not automatically transferable to the macroscopic world because, as the size of a quantum system increases, it interacts more with the surrounding environment, rapidly losing its quantum properties (aka quantum decoherence). This successful large-scale entanglement could open up many applications offered by quantum physics.