Mysterious new state of matter discovered: Quantum spin liquid is seen in a real-world material 40 YEARS after being predicted - and it could make computers superfast

The state (illustrated), spotted by the University of Cambridge, causes electrons - thought to be indivisible building blocks of nature - to break into pieces.

The resulting Majorana fermions could make quantum computers far faster than conventional computers and would be able to perform calculations that could not be done otherwise. 

The state was first proposed by physicist Phil Anderson in 1973.