Enlisting symmetry to protect quantum states from disruptions

Symmetry permeates nature, from the radial symmetry of flowers to the left-right symmetry of the human body. As such, it provides a natural way of classifying objects by grouping those that share the same symmetry. This is particularly useful for describing transitions between phases of matter. For example, liquid and gas phases have translational symmetry, meaning the arrangement of molecules doesn't change regardless of the direction from which they are observed. On the other hand, the density of atoms in a solid phase is not continuously the same—thus translational symmetry is broken.

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