PROGRAM

Wednesday 25 May; Delft, Alain Aspect "From Einstein's Intuiton to Quantum Bits: A New Quantum Age?"

Date:

 

Time: 16:00 hrs
Location: Faculteit CiTG  
Stevinweg 1, Delft
Toegang gratis

This year the Kronig lecture organised by the VvTP (the Student Association for Applied Physics) hosts none less than professor Alain Aspect, famous for his experiments testing Bell's inequalities. To the uninitiated, these experiments revealed a startling truth behind Einstein's suspicions: namely, that quantum mechanics implies that "spooky", faster-than-light communication takes place between particles no matter how far removed they are. Instant transmission, in a universe where nothing should be able to travel faster than light!? What does this mean?

A plethora of books has been written to explain this weird, even metaphysical aspect of modern physics. But there are also practical implications, such as quantum computing, which universities like the TU Delft are more than happy to investigate.

In fact, based on the concept of "entanglement," a new field of research has emerged - quantum information - where entanglement between qubits enables conceptually new methods for processing and transmitting information. Large scale practical implementation of such concepts might end up revolutionizing our society, as did the laser, the transistor and integrated circuits, some of the most striking fruits of the first quantum revolution, which began in the 20th century.

This lecture has been organised by the Student Association for Applied Physics