Xin-Biao Xu

A massive refrigerator the size of a wardrobe hums, maintaining an interior colder than outer space. At its heart lies a silicon chip with tiny superconducting loops — qubits. But to make the chip work, dozens of thick copper cables snake from room temperature down to it.

Light passing by a tiny structure changes direction. If the structure is smaller than the wavelength of the light, it acts like a lens and focuses the light into a spot smaller than the wave itself.