Special Properties of LEGOs Could be Useful for Quantum Computing

(Phys.org) The special properties of LEGOS could be useful in the development of quantum computing. A world leading team of ultra-low temperature physicists at Lancaster University decided to place a LEGO figure and four LEGO blocks inside their record-breaking dilution refrigerator.
Invented 50 years ago, the dilution refrigerator is at the centre of a global multi-billion dollar industry and is crucial to the work of modern experimental physics and engineering, including the development of quantum computers.
The use of ABS plastic structures, such as LEGO , instead of the solid materials currently in use, means that any future thermal insulator could be produced at a significantly reduced cost.
Researchers say the next step is to design and 3-D print a new thermal insulator for the next generation of dilution refrigerators.