Wonders of the Quantum World

With special guest:

• Dr Danni Holmes
  … in conversation with Bill Kable

Our guest today takes us to a special world that no-one can see but it is very real and it affects our lives every day.

Dr Danni Holmes does not baffle us with scientific formulas and equations. Danni is a wonderful communicator of scientific developments in ways that we can all understand. In today’s program we hear about the wonders that are being revealed in her research and what it was that first drove a child in the UK to be working in Sydney on building a new generation of computers.

These are the Wonders of the Quantum World which is the name of Danni Holmes’ new book. Listening to Danni we cannot help but get enthusiastic ourselves about these quantum particles which are the smallest building blocks in the universe. They make up atoms.

Put simply, quantum particles defy our common sense. Haven’t we always known that something cannot be in two places at the one time and that particles cannot simply pass through a solid barrier? Be prepared for some extraordinary revelations today.

As one more example Danni tells us about what scientists call entanglement. Einstein dismissed it a spooky action at a distance but we find that when two quantum particles are “entangled”, affecting one will affect the other instantaneously even when they are on opposite sides of the universe.

Back to our every day lives we hear how research into quantum particles led to the development of GPS on our phones and even to the natural creation of massive mountains. We now know how stars like our sun can keep shining for billions of years when they are burning up their hydrogen fuel at a rate of 600 million tons a second. In the animal kingdom migrating birds rely on quantum effects. It is no wonder that Danni is so passionate about her field of discovery.

So where to now? Danni is in a race with other scientists around the world to develop a working quantum computer. Danni thinks this will happen in her lifetime. We can expect the unexpected when talking about the potential of these computers that would be unbelievably powerful. At the very least they will enable new drugs to be developed, far more accurate weather forecasting and will power up AI.

In the meantime Danni wants to see more young people take up science as a career and be encouraged to do so as she was by her own father.

Dr Danni Holmes

Danni Holmes is a quantum physicist, quantum engineer and all-round quantum enthusiast. She studied Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge, before jumping continents to obtain her PhD in Physics at the University of Melbourne. Danni is currently based in the School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications at UNSW Sydney, where she lectures and researches how to build quantum computers. Danni is passionate about sharing her love for quantum physics and its power to revolutionise technology far beyond the laboratory.

Song selection by our guest: Cosmic Dancer by T-Rex

Podcast (mp3)