GAITHERSBURG, MARYLAND — Coupled quantum dots — which act like artificial atoms that share an electron — could potentially form a robust qubit to revolutionize computing.<br /><br />According to a study in Physical Review B, scientists have created the first ever pair of this substance.<br /><br />The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology says that classical computers are made of binary bits that store information as fix values of either one or zero.<br /><br />Qubits can take on multiple values simultaneously, which enables quantum computers that utilize qubits to perform larger and more complex tasks.<br /><br />To create the coupled quantum dots, NIST researchers hovered a scanning tunneling microscope above a sheet of graphene with an underlying layer of boron nitride.<br /><br />The STM's electrical charge penetrates the graphene and releases electrons from the boron nitride, which the graphene then captured. <br /><br />Afterward, the team applied a magnetic field on the microscope's tip and forced the electrons to take up residence in two concentric rings.<br /><br />This process leads to the creation of the coupled system, but the research team states that they are unable to explain their success with the current state of quantum theory.