Josh Cogan

Quantum computers require magical states — special helper particles for error-free operation. Previously, they were obtained through repeated purification, akin to endless distillation of alcohol: each step added энтропию (disorder), like weeds in a garden, and consumed resources.

Quantum particles in a strongly disordered environment behave like dancers executing steps in sync: each knows its own move and never collides with others. This kind of coordinated, frictionless flow, superfluidity, unexpectedly emerged in an experiment on a superconducting quantum chip.

Ice cubes in a glass melt, and the water mixes on its own. Many quantum systems behave this way: particles exchange energy, and after a while, order disappears. But if you add a spoonful of honey to the glass, mixing slows down, and in intense cold, the water freezes into glass — without a crystal lattice, but also without flow.