There's a kind of Hush surrounding quantum systems

Has a persistent noise ever kept you awake at night? Well it isn't just you. Scientists at The University of Nottingham have had the same problem with quantum technologies.

But their sleepless nights could be over. Inspired by old technology, researchers at The University of Nottingham in collaboration with a team from The University of Queensland have proposed a way to make technologies of the future more stable.

Carrying out Nottingham's theoretical work on improving quantum technologies is Dr Michael Hush in the School of Physics and Astronomy. He said: "Quantum systems are extremely sensitive to noise, and as little as one per cent can stop some quantum technologies from working. Our study, inspired by noise-cancelling headphones demonstrates that by measuring the noise - then feeding it back in the right way - can cancel the noise's effect on the system.