Chemical elements · Directory entry

Ytterbium

Element 70 · chemical symbol: Yb

These Vrulum profiles mention Ytterbium by name. Read each profile for its specific context; a mention alone does not establish composition, performance or use of the pure element.

For periodic-table data and other properties, consult the Royal Society of Chemistry periodic table.

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Research and prototypes

Analogue quantum simulation

Analogue quantum simulators are programmable devices, built from cold atoms, Rydberg atom arrays or trapped ions, that are tuned to behave like a chosen quantum model so that researchers can study its physics. Published experiments reach up to 256 atoms or ions and reproduce known phases of matter, while claims of practical advantage over classical computers are early and hard to verify.

Research and prototypes

Neutral-atom quantum computers

Neutral-atom quantum computers hold individual atoms in optical tweezers and use their internal states as qubits, with laser-driven links between neighbouring atoms. Since 2023, research groups have reported high-fidelity two-qubit gates, small logical-qubit processors and arrays of thousands of atoms, but no neutral-atom machine has yet run a large, error-corrected calculation.

Research and prototypes

Optical atomic clocks

Optical atomic clocks keep time by counting the oscillations of light that atoms or ions absorb, which occur at much higher frequencies than the microwaves used by today's caesium standard. Laboratory systems now report systematic uncertainties near 10⁻¹⁸, and the BIPM is preparing a redefinition of the SI second based on optical transitions, with CGPM adoption anticipated in 2030 or later.