--- title: Metal clumps in a quantum state: Physicists place... description: Physicists at the University of Vienna demonstrated that massive metallic nanoparticles containing 5,000-10,000 sodium atoms exhibit quantum mechanical... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/metal-clumps-in-a-quantum-state-physicists-place-thousands-of-sodium-atoms-in-a-schr-dinger-s-cat--rwxnfrdaz twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Metal clumps in a quantum state: Physicists place thousands of sodium atoms in a 'Schrödinger's cat state' | daily.dev og:description: Physicists at the University of Vienna demonstrated that massive metallic nanoparticles containing 5,000-10,000 sodium atoms exhibit quantum mechanical... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/metal-clumps-in-a-quantum-state-physicists-place-thousands-of-sodium-atoms-in-a-schr-dinger-s-cat--rwxnfrdaz og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/RWXNFRdaZ.png og:image:alt: Metal clumps in a quantum state: Physicists place thousands of sodium atoms in a 'Schrödinger's cat state' og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Metal clumps in a quantum state: Physicists place thousands of sodium atoms in a 'Schrödinger's cat state' **[Phys.org](https://daily.dev/sources/phys)** · 5 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Physicists at the University of Vienna demonstrated that massive metallic nanoparticles containing 5,000-10,000 sodium atoms exhibit quantum mechanical behavior, achieving quantum superposition states. Using laser-based diffraction gratings, they created interference patterns showing these 8-nanometer particles exist in multiple locations simultaneously—a 'Schrödinger's cat state.' The experiment achieved a macroscopicity value of 15.5, an order of magnitude higher than previous tests, making it one of the most rigorous validations of quantum mechanics at macroscopic scales. The interferometer also functions as an ultra-sensitive force sensor, opening applications in precision measurements of nanoparticle properties. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Physicists Outline Technique to Scale Neutral-Atom Quantum Systems Beyond 100,000 Qubits](https://daily.dev/posts/physicists-outline-technique-to-scale-neutral-atom-quantum-systems-beyond-100-000-qubits-ku98npj9n) · The Quantum Insider · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Physicists bring unruly molecules to the quantum party](https://daily.dev/posts/physicists-bring-unruly-molecules-to-the-quantum-party-1mtpomk2o) · Phys.org · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Multitasking quantum sensors can measure several properties at once](https://daily.dev/posts/multitasking-quantum-sensors-can-measure-several-properties-at-once-8s47j65fj) · MIT News · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [New Device Can Take Photographs With a Single Atom](https://daily.dev/posts/new-device-can-take-photographs-with-a-single-atom-6fbtp5tfi) · IEEE Spectrum · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Researchers Create Room-Temperature Quantum Material That Filters Light by Its Quantum Statistics](https://daily.dev/posts/researchers-create-room-temperature-quantum-material-that-filters-light-by-its-quantum-statistics-yqaa2m99t) · The Quantum Insider · 1 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#nanotechnology](https://daily.dev/tags/nanotechnology), [#physics](https://daily.dev/tags/physics), [#quantum-computing](https://daily.dev/tags/quantum-computing) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/metal-clumps-in-a-quantum-state-physicists-place-thousands-of-sodium-atoms-in-a-schr-dinger-s-cat--rwxnfrdaz) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Metal clumps in a quantum state: Physicists place thousands of sodium atoms in a 'Schrödinger's cat state'","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/metal-clumps-in-a-quantum-state-physicists-place-thousands-of-sodium-atoms-in-a-schr-dinger-s-cat--rwxnfrdaz","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/metal-clumps-in-a-quantum-state-physicists-place-thousands-of-sodium-atoms-in-a-schr-dinger-s-cat--rwxnfrdaz"},"datePublished":"2026-01-21T18:21:09.557Z","dateModified":"2026-03-15T05:23:50.627Z","description":"Physicists at the University of Vienna demonstrated that massive metallic nanoparticles containing 5,000-10,000 sodium atoms exhibit quantum mechanical...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/0a01751f785376183a9ac2fe6813942e?_a=AQAEulh","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/0a01751f785376183a9ac2fe6813942e?_a=AQAEulh","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Phys.org","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Phys.org","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/c49f1b7f197849d4bb5571cf4f2be408","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/phys"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/metal-clumps-in-a-quantum-state-physicists-place-thousands-of-sodium-atoms-in-a-schr-dinger-s-cat--rwxnfrdaz","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"nanotechnology,physics,quantum-computing","timeRequired":"PT5M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Phys.org","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/phys"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Metal clumps in a quantum state: Physicists place thousands of sodium atoms in a 'Schrödinger's cat state'"}]} ```