Team of scientists puts visible object into quantum ground state

This is quite epic for quantum mechanics. Prior to this, something 30 micrometers was usually considered unbelievably massive to apply quantum principles to.

Dare I say I smell quantum-mechanic mechanical experiments soon? How about gears that rotate and don't? I also wonder if this could be the basis for a relatively easy way to make a quantum computer.

edit: another article [1] and the data's original article [2] (behind a paywall). By the article's abstract, it sounds like they measure the state of the drum with a quantum bit "coupled" to its state. Don't ask me how that works, though.

[1]: http://worldofweirdthings.com/2010/03/18/rethinking-quantum-...

[2]: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/natu...

From the article.

A team of scientists has succeeded in putting an object large enough to be visible to the naked eye into a mixed quantum state of moving and not moving.

According to quantum theory, particles act as waves rather than point masses on very small scales. This has dozens of bizarre consequences: it is impossible to know a particle's exact position and velocity through space, yet it is possible for the same particle to be doing two contradictory things simultaneously. Through a phenomenon known as 'superposition' a particle can be moving and stationary at the same time — at least until an outside force acts on it. Then it instantly chooses one of the two contradictory positions.

When they say they put an object big enough to see into this quantum mechanical state, thats awesome. But, it still seems like you can't see it being in this state. I wonder if its possible to be able to to see something both vibrate and not vibrate.

Though as far as I know, one of the ways the environment messes with quantum mechanical phenomena is by photons hitting the objects in question, so maybe seeing these things is out of the question.

As another commenter pointed out, the team put a visible object into a quantum ground state, but, alas, if you saw the object it's probability function would collapse.

So we've made something that's big enough to see, but nobody can look at it.

Damn I can't wait until we hackers start working quantum computers! "Well Bob, the code is actually in the box -- and it's not. In this universe? Sure it's buggy as hell. But let me assure you, there are many other universes in which the code is kicking ass, and you are very happy. Actually the code was perfectly fine here too -- until you looked at it."

(I know I'm using hyperbole. The point is that quantum effects make normal people's brain hurt)