How to Measure a Molecule's Energy More Precisely Than the Instrument Allows
A quantum computer measures a molecule's energy much like an old tape measure that only has markings every meter. If the actual length of a table is 2.37 meters, the tape shows “two and a bit,” and you can't do better. Physicists call this resolution: the step of the grid, finer than which you cannot go.
The authors of the new work turn this flaw into an advantage.