How could this new type of room-temperature qubit usher in the next phase of quantum computing?

3D illustration of a working quantum computer with fictitious and realistic design elements combined.

Scientists have built a qubit, or quantum bit, that can achieve "quantum coherence" at room temperature — something normally only possible at temperatures close to absolute zero.

To achieve quantum coherence — a stable state in which the weird laws of quantum mechanics can be observed  — qubits must normally be cooled down to minus 459 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 273 degrees Celsius) or they succumb to disturbances and fail, which is known as decoherence.