Quantum record smashed as scientists build mammoth 6,000-qubit system — and it works at room temperature

Computer generated image of a laser beam creating a triangular shape in the center of the image.

Scientists at Caltech have conducted a record-breaking experiment in which they synchronized 6,100 atoms in a quantum array. This research could lead to more robust, fault-tolerant quantum computers.

In the experiment, they used paired neutral atoms as the quantum bits (qubits) in a system and held them in a state of “superposition” to conduct quantum computations. To achieve this, the scientists split a laser beam into 12,000 "laser tweezers" which together held the 6,100 qubits.