2D crystal of ultracold charged atoms is biggest ever created

The largest two-dimensional crystal of extremely cold, charged atoms ever created could be used to study poorly understood quantum materials, as well as for building quantum computers.

Some crystals exhibit intriguing quantum behaviours like unusual magnetism or perfect conduction of electricity, but understanding what each atom is doing to make that happen can be difficult to determine experimentally and impossible to simulate on a computer. So, since the 1990s, researchers have …