World’s first superconducting quantum heat engine could help unlock massive quantum computers

Researchers at Aalto University built the world's first superconducting quantum heat engine, using a transmon qubit, a resonator, and a quantum refrigerator to repeatedly produce positive work near absolute zero. The device runs on an Otto cycle and could eventually eliminate the need for millions of expensive microwave cables in large-scale quantum computers, reducing both cost and noise in systems that may require hundreds of thousands of physical qubits.