Progress towards a future quantum computer.
Prof. Tobias Kippenberg's group demonstrated a system in which light is used to control the motion of an object that is large enough to be seen with the naked eye at the level where quantum mechanics governs its behavior.
Mechanical vibrations can be coupled to quantum systems of completely different nature (such as electric currents), as well as to light. They could therefore be used to ‘translate’ quantum information between those systems and light signals. This is especially beneficial as it allows to transport quantum information - the basic ingredient of a future quantum computer - over large distances in optical fibers.