D. Shah

A quantum bit is like a spinning top that must keep spinning steadily for a long time. In germanium, researchers have learned to set such tops spinning, but the floor around them is always trembling: electrical noise knocks the spin off course.

A pear lies on the table, and if it had an electric charge, that charge would gather at one end. Many nuclei are built this way: the displacement of protons and neutrons creates an intrinsic dipole moment. But radium-224, which is indeed pear-shaped, has a dipole moment that is almost zero.