An electron is like a tiny spinning top — it's constantly rotating. This property is called spin, and it's crucial for quantum technologies. But under normal conditions, the environment quickly disrupts the rotation, like a top stumbling on gritty sand.
To 'smooth the sand,' physicists used perovskite nanocrystals embedded in glass and cooled them with liquid helium to nearly absolute zero (–272°C). Thermal jolts freeze, and the spin rotates almost without disturbance. Using spectroscopy — a method combining a laser and radio waves — scientists tracked the spin's behavior.
Under these conditions, the electron spin lasted 0.9 milliseconds — a gigantic improvement compared to nanoseconds at room temperature. The details surprised: it turned out that those same nuclear bumps generate a weak magnetic field, and it can be used to precisely control the electron's rotation.
The crystal was cooled to 1.6 degrees above absolute zero — colder than in outer space.