Aaron Smith

A quantum computer is like an orchestra where every musician must play their part perfectly, or the melody falls apart. Previously, controlling qubits — the quantum 'musicians'—required a room full of equipment, and every extra wire added noise.

In the heart of a molecular cloud, a massive star is born. Its ultraviolet light ionizes hydrogen, and the cloud flares in the Lyman-alpha line. But for the photon, this flare is not liberation but imprisonment in a hall of mirrors.

Imagine an ancient manuscript, where a new story is written over an old text. Over time, the upper layer wears thin, and lines of the past show through. That’s exactly how globular clusters, the oldest stellar systems in the Universe, are structured, like a palimpsest.