"We have created a new quantum bit where the spin of a single electron is merged together with a strong electromagnetic field," Arne Laucht, a Research Fellow at UNSW, said in a statement. "This quantum bit is more versatile and more long-lived than the electron alone, and will allow us to build more reliable quantum computers."

These "dressed qubits" (in that they're "dressed" by the electromagnetic field) are able to retain information far longer than the standard "spin" qubit. And the longer the qubit can hold onto that information, the more powerful the computation researchers can make. The UNSW researchers create these custom qubits by blasting an electron's spin with a continuously-oscillating magnetic field at microwave frequencies. Changing the frequency of the field adjusts the electron's spin, much the same way that sound travels over FM radio.

This advancement could finally make quantum computers actually useful and bring them mainstream. Though that's not from a lack of interest. Intel and Google are both already working on quantum computer designs of their own.