Ciprian Padurariu

Ordinary detectors can't sense microwave photons—their energy is vanishingly small. A new superconducting device triggers an avalanche: one photon spawns dozens more, amplifying the signal and separating it from noise. This method paves the way for quantum networks and studying the echo of the Big B

In ordinary superconductors, magnetic vortices waste energy and cause interference. A film of aluminum grains traps a vortex in place, turning it into an ultrastable quantum bit. Scientists control it with microwaves, paving the way for new quantum computers and sensors.