Physicists Achieve Quantum Superposition with Largest Object Yet

Physicists have created a Schrödinger's cat that weighs 16 micrograms, making it the fattest quantum cat to date. The cat was created by putting a small crystal in a superposition of two oscillation states, equivalent to alive or dead in Schrödinger's thought experiment, and coupling it with a superconducting circuit. The team's research, published in the journal Science, tests the muddy waters where the world of quantum mechanics gives way to the classical physics of the familiar macroscopic world. The research takes Schrödinger’s famous thought experiment and gives it some practical applications, such as helping reduce noise in the interferometers that measure gravitational waves.