States in quantum superposition are notoriously fragile but researchers in China have reported creating such a state that lasted for a whopping 23 minutes and 20 seconds. This record-breaking result is exciting in itself but the team believes that it could open new ways to high-precision measurements and even information processing for quantum computers – possibly even allowing scientists to probe the limits of physical theories. The study, which is yet to be peer-reviewed, conducted by scientists at the University of Science and Technology of China, saw 10,000 atoms of ytterbium cooled down t…