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Quantum effect observed for biggest objects yet

An experiment has broken the size record for an object exhibiting matter-wave interference — fuelling the debate about possible size constraints.
By
  1. Tim Kovachy

    1. Tim Kovachy is in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and at the Center for Fundamental Physics, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA.

Quantum mechanics predicts that single particles that have mass can behave as waves that do not have a definite location in space. Instead, such matter waves spread across a superposition of multiple locations at any given time, similar to how ripples generated by throwing a rock into a lake extend across the surface of the water. A striking consequence of this ‘wave–particle duality’ is that massive particles can form interference patterns, similar to those seen when water or light waves overlap. This matter-wave interference has often been observed for microscopic particles, such as electrons, neutrons and atoms, but whether it can occur for macroscopic objects remains an active topic of debate1.

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Nature 649, 835-836 (2026)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-04097-y

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Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.

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