The world that quantum physicists study with a trained eye is the very same world that we non-scientists navigate every day. The only difference is that it's been magnified to scales incomprehensibly small and large.

Still, quantum physics remains largely a murky subject—even for scientifically astute readers. News@Northeastern spoke to Gregory Fiete, a physics professor at Northeastern, about some of the broad applications of quantum research, from developing and building more powerful computers, to advancing humanity's quest to discover life beyond the . Fiete's comments have been edited for brevity and clarity.

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