The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. It’s not easy to study quantum systems—collections of particles that follow the counterintuitive rules of quantum mechanics.

Quantum technologies operate by leveraging various quantum mechanical effects, including entanglement. Entanglement occurs when two or more particles share correlated states even if they are distant.

In a variety of technological applications related to chemical energy generation and storage, atoms and molecules diffuse and react on metallic surfaces. Being able to simulate and predict this motion ...