ON SCIENCE
Quantum literacy for all
Text Panu Räty Photos Mikko Raskinen
What do computers, cell phones and GPS navigation have in common? And what about digital cameras, solar panels and fibre optics? The answer is that the functioning of these devices is based on quantum phenomena.
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uantum physics is more than just experiments in multimillion-euro particle accelerators or strange deep-space phenomena. Applications based on quantum physics are already a part of our daily lives. This is, however, only the beginning. Quantum computers, quantum networks and quantum sensors are becoming a reality. They have the potential to massively disrupt humanity’s ability to process information and, over time, our everyday lives as well. Yet quantum physics remains a foreign concept to most laypeople. Sabrina Maniscalco, Professor of Physics at the University of Helsinki, Adjunct Professor of Applied Physics at Aalto University and Vice-director of the Academy of Finland Centre of Excellence in Quantum Technology, is working to rectify this issue. In a project led by Maniscalco, researchers built an open web platform called QPlayLearn (qplaylearn. com). This website, created with support from IBM and the research team’s firm Algorthmiq, provides information on the basic concepts of quantum physics for learners starting at the high school level. According to Maniscalco, understanding quantum physics is made more difficult by the language we speak. Human linguistic metaphors derive from a world of clear cause-and-effect relationships to which we are accustomed in everyday life. This is why a fresh approach is necessary. ‘We believe that anyone can understand the key dimensions of quantum physics,’ says Maniscalco.
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Gamifying the quantum Sabrina Maniscalco says that we cannot lean on our everyday experiences when adopting quantum physics. How could we, from our own experience, ever grasp that before particles are measured they can be located in many different places simultaneously? ‘Today, however, there are many multimedia tools on offer: interactive digital tools, animations, videos and, of course, games.’ Maniscalco says this is precisely what makes the QPlayLearn project so special. Its aim is to build a whole new kind of toolkit for conveying complex information. In addition to games, animations and video presentations, the site also offers articles that explain quantum phenomena and related mathematics. Quantum Playground is one of the video games available on QPlayLearn. The colourful game looks at quantum superposition and the behaviour of the wave function. According to Maniscalco, the player experience grows even stronger in the virtual reality (VR) version, where the player is submerged in quantum phenomena taking the form of changing patterns of light and colour.
Quantum Garden is an interactive work of light art that changes colour when touched. The piece is connected to a “black quantum box”, which collects information and processes the touches to assist in the development of quantum logic gates. Quantum gates are important building blocks of quantum computers. The art work was realised by game artist Robin Baumgarten in cooperation with physicists from the Centre of Excellence in Quantum Technology led by Professor Sabrina Maniscalco.