Scientists show metal nanoparticles can exist in quantum superposition, pushing quantum mechanics into macroscopic scales.
Researchers from the University of Vienna and the University of Duisburg-Essen showed that metallic nanoparticles made of thousands of sodium atoms still obey the rules of quantum mechanics .The experiment pushes quantum theory into territory once thought impossible.
These particles are no longer single atoms or tiny molecules. They are clusters large enough to resemble components used in modern electronics.Quantum mechanics says matter can behave like both a particle and a wave. This wave nature has been demonstrated many times, but only for very small objects such as electrons, atoms, and simple molecules.In everyday life, objects behave differently. Stones, dust, and marbles have fixed positions and predictable paths. They follow classical physics, not quantum rules.Metal behaves like wavesThe Vienna team, led by Markus Arndt and Stefan Gerlich, demonstrated quantum interference in metallic nanoparticles for the first time. The clusters are about 8 nanometers wide, similar in size to transistor structures.Each cluster has a mass of more than 170,000 atomic mass units, making it heavier than most proteins. Despite this, the particles still form interference patterns, a clear sign of wave-like behavior.“Intuitively, one would expect such a large lump of metal to behave like a classical particle,” says lead author and doctoral student Sebastian Pedalino. “The fact that it still interferes shows that quantum mechanics is valid even on this scale and does not require alternative models.”To run the experiment, scientists created cold sodium clusters containing between 5,000 and 10,000 atoms. These particles were sent through three diffraction gratings made from ultraviolet laser light.The first laser fixes each particle’s position with extreme precision, placing it into a superposition of possible paths. When these paths recombine, they produce a striped interference pattern made of metal particles.This result shows the particles do not have a single location while flying through the apparatus. Their quantum spread is far larger than their physical size.Physicists call such conditions Schrödinger cat states, named after Erwin Schrödinger’s famous thought experiment. In this case, “every piece of metal is here and not here.”Quantum test breaks recordsThe theoretical backbone of the experiment comes from decades of work on near-field interferometry by Klaus Hornberger of the University of Duisburg-Essen, a co-author of the study.The team uses a metric called macroscopicity to compare how strongly different experiments test quantum mechanics. Higher values mean stricter limits on alternative theories.This experiment achieved a macroscopicity value of μ=15.5, about ten times higher than any previous result. Matching this test with electrons would require maintaining quantum coherence for 100 million years.The metal nanoparticles needed just one hundredth of a second.Beyond theory, the setup also functions as an ultra-sensitive force sensor. It can detect forces as small as 10-26 newtons, with even better sensitivity expected in future upgrades.The researchers plan to test even larger objects and new materials. Their goal is to push quantum mechanics further into the macroscopic world.The study appears in the journal Nature.
Metallic Nanoparticles Nanotechnology Near-Field Interferometry Quantum Interference Quantum Mechanics Schrödinger Cat States University Of Vienna
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