https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/02/230223132857.htm

The theory developed by Rice theorist Peter Wolynes and Oxford theoretical chemist David Logan gives a simple prediction for the threshold at which large quantum systems switch from orderly motion like a clock to random, erratic motion like asteroids moving around in the early solar system. Using a computational analysis of a photosynthesis model, collaborators at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign showed that the theory can predict the nature of the motions in a chlorophyll molecule when it absorbs energy from sunlight.

The theory applies to any sufficiently complex quantum system and may give insights into building better quantum computers. It could also, for instance, help design features of next-generation solar cells or perhaps make batteries last longer.