It's near impossible to observe, but quantum physics-how atoms and light work at the smallest scales-is having an impact on everything from agriculture and energy to IT and medicine. As the world celebrates the Year of Quantum , here's five unexpected ways quantum will change the way we operate, explained by Swinburne experts.
Swinburne is a leader in quantum technology, with two quantum research centres including over 30 researchers and graduate students, plus undergraduate and postgraduate courses to train the next generation of quantum scientists.
Cybersecurity
Quantum computing could transform cybersecurity in both disruptive and opportunistic ways.
"If successful, quantum computers could break many of the encryption systems that currently secure communications and data, putting the entire public-key cryptography framework at risk," explains Swinburne Digital Capability Research Platform Director Professor Yang Xiang .
"This would pose a serious threat to national security, financial systems, and sensitive data such as health records."
But advances in post-quantum cryptographic algorithms, quantum key distribution, and quantum random number generation offer the potential for even stronger security.
"These algorithms run on classical computers but are believed to be secure against both classical and quantum attacks," Professor Xiang says.
"While practical quantum attacks are not yet possible, the need to prepare for a post-quantum future is already influencing cybersecurity strategies worldwide. The cybersecurity team at Swinburne University of Technology is actively researching quantum algorithms and their applications in real-world scenarios."
Drug discovery
To develop better and more targeted pharmaceuticals, researchers need to understand how molecules interact at a quantum level. Some of the most important chemical behaviours-like how a drug binds to a protein-are governed by the laws of quantum mechanics.
Simulating those interactions on traditional computers is extremely challenging, especially for large or complex molecules. By mimicking the behaviour of real particles in simulations, quantum computers could allow researchers to accurately model those systems-potentially reducing the time and cost of drug development, leading to breakthroughs.
Dr Ben McAllister , a Swinburne physicist and quantum scientist, says that a deeper understanding of the microscopic world could help predict some important properties of chemicals-without years of trial and error in the lab-and that quantum computers could help us get there.
"When we talk about drug discovery, a huge part of the challenge is predicting how molecules will behave and interact-and those behaviours are governed by the strange rules of quantum physics. Simulating those processes with classical computers is extremely difficult, but quantum computers are built to handle that kind of complexity. If we can scale them up, they could offer a powerful new tool for designing drugs more efficiently."
Timetronics
Time crystals, first proposed by MIT Nobel Laureate Frank Wilczek in 2012, are a novel form of quantum matter in which particles such as atoms exhibit a periodic, repeating motion in time, like how atoms in a regular crystal repeat in space.
Emeritus Professor and leader of the Time Crystals project within Swinburne's Optical Sciences Centre Peter Hannaford says such time crystals are robust against external disturbances and can, in principle, persist for extremely long periods of time.
"This means they could overcome limitations of traditional electronic devices and enable new functionalities in quantum computing and other fields."
"We are building a time crystal based on periodically driven ultracold potassium atoms, chilled to within a millionth of a degree above absolute zero. This setup lets us create large time crystals with many repeating points, or 'lattice sites', which can be used to explore new types of matter that exist in time instead of space."
These time crystals could also lead to "timetronics"-a kind of electronics based on time instead of space. In this system, time-based lattices act like reconfigurable circuit boards. Unlike conventional circuit boards, all elements interact individually with all other elements on the board, allowing direct communication between components.
"These temporal circuits could support a wide range of quantum technologies, including universal quantum computers that can perform all necessary quantum operations without needing complex error correction," says Emeritus Professor Hannaford.
Agriculture
Similarly to pharmaceuticals, quantum computing has the potential to help model complex chemical processes in agriculture-from designing more efficient fertilisers to analysing how plants respond to environmental stress.
In the long run, this could support more resilient crops, better yields, and smarter use of resources-important goals as farms adapt to the effects of climate change.
Dr Ben McAllister says quantum computing could eventually support climate-resilient farming by revealing how crops respond to stress at the molecular level.
"A lot of what matters in agriculture-like how crops respond to heat stress, or how fertilisers interact with soil-comes down to chemistry and biology at the molecular level. Quantum computers performing simulations could give us a much deeper understanding of those processes, and help design more resilient systems to support food production in a changing climate."
Hydrogen safety
As Australia moves towards a clean energy future, hydrogen will play a central role in reducing emissions and decarbonising key sectors. As a result hydrogen safety is becoming increasingly critical.
Swinburne's Associate Professor Mahnaz Shafiei is developing hydrogen sensors made with novel nanomaterials.
"We have developed innovative hydrogen sensing technologies via synthesis of novel nanomaterials to act as highly sensitive and selective sensors to detect hydrogen gas", Associate Professor Shafiei explains.
The nanomaterials include titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanospheres with palladium (Pd), quantum-sized dots. These dots serve as catalysts, enhancing the hydrogen sensing capabilities of the nanospheres, improving sensitivity, operational conditions, response and recovery time, and environmental stability.
"These sensors address many of the limitations found in commercially available systems, providing a more reliable, cost-effective, and versatile solution for real-world applications," says Associate Professor Shafiei.
"The quantum effects of nanomaterials in gas sensing play a pivotal role in enhancing the performance of advanced sensors. By carefully designing the size, shape, and makeup of these materials, we can control these quantum effects to create much better gas sensors."
"These insights are vital for developing next-generation sensors for environmental monitoring, industrial safety, and energy systems."
