"atoms in this state are extremely sensitive to outside forces":
   BINGO. That's the "quantum weirdness" in a nutshell. I knew that
   since I was a kid and first HEARD about this stuff. I never
   understood all the 'woo'.

   "This gives us an unprecedented tool to control a quantum
   system, perhaps even atom by atom," said Patil, lead author of
   the paper. Atoms in this state are extremely sensitive to
   outside forces,l he noted, so this work could lead to the
   development of new kinds of sensors. Electrons and photons are
   BIG and POWERFUL. It's as simple as that. They're like bulls in
   a china shop most of the time the way we've been using them.

   Quantum Physics are the bullies of the subatomic world who don't
   realize that the stuff they're measuring are sensitive artists
   that can either fold up or snap and explode.