Physicists used LIGO’s mirrors to approach a quantum limit

A large object has gotten closer to a realm usually reserved for the very small

scientists working on a LIGO mirror

Scientists quieted the relative movements of the mirrors (one shown) of the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, putting them in a near-quantum state.

Caltech, MIT, LIGO lab

Quantum mechanics usually applies to very small objects: atoms, electrons and the like.