Check your calendars: Today both is and is not World Quantum Day (you'll never know until you look closely).
This global event celebrates the physics of the very small-from particles that can tunnel through seemingly impassable barriers to unbreakable codes and everything else associated with this out-there field of science.
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On April 12, JILA brought together researchers and business leaders from across Colorado to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing women working in the quantum world.
CU Boulder has long been a leader in quantum research. Four out of the university's five Nobel Prizes have come from researchers studying the quantum realm at JILA, a joint research institute with the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST). The university has also launched a number of quantum research initiatives in recent years, including CUbit Quantum Initiative, Quantum Systems through Entangled Science and Engineering (Q-SEnSE) and the Quantum Engineering Initiative.
To recognize World Quantum Day, which is organized by scientists from around the world to raise awareness of the field, CU Boulder Today talked with three quantum research graduate students: Jacob Beckey, who works at JILA to design the quantum computers of the future; Gregory Krueper, who explores the physics of optical fiber in the Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering; and Joanna Lis, who traps and manipulates atoms using lasers at JILA.
They spoke about what the future holds for quantum physics and how quantum discoveries have already fueled the modern, digital age.
First off, what is quantum physics?
Beckey: Quantum physics is a model of the universe that describes, incredibly accurately, the behavior of tiny particles like electrons and protons. Understanding the quantum realm has allowed scientists to make descriptions of chemical processes, the functioning of important devices in many electronics called semi- and superconductors, light-matter interaction and much, much more.
Lis: As objects become smaller and smaller, and you go to colder and colder temperatures, the physics starts to deviate from our normal day-to-day experience. For example, an atom absorbs and emits well-defined amounts, or "quanta," of light.
Another quantum feature is entanglement, a correlation between atoms or other systems in which measuring one atom affects the outcome of measuring the others. Finally, in quantum physics the act of measurement is also very different. In classical physics, I can measure the position and speed of an object at the same time. In quantum physics, once I know the position very precisely, I have no way of knowing how fast the objects moves.
How might quantum discoveries change the lives of everyday people?
Beckey: Quantum theory underlies some of the most important innovations of the past century, including radiation therapy, MRIs and lasers. If it were not for a deep understanding of quantum mechanics, the transistor would not have been invented. So, in a sense, we have quantum theory to thank for the modern digital age.
