We’re building the tools to trap ions and watch them glow (or not). The art-deco-esque device shown above is a combined trap for ions (charged atoms) and detector for individual photons (particles of light). When you hold an ion in place and hit it with a laser, depending on its quantum state, the ion will either glow and emit photons … or it will do nothing and stay in the dark.
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Source: Phys.org