• Question: what are your thoughts on quantum physics

    Asked by JimbobZ to Francesca, Laura, Matthew, Andrew, Rebecca on 17 Nov 2014.
    • Photo: Laura Schofield

      Laura Schofield answered on 17 Nov 2014:

      It is so so clever! But way over my head! I almost picked to do physics at Uni but am really glad I didn’t now because I wouldn’t understand much of it!!! I am in awe of anyone that can though!

    • Photo: Rebecca Ingle

      Rebecca Ingle answered on 17 Nov 2014:

      I’m a little biased on this one as obviously it’s heavily involved in the type of research I do. It’s really interesting and a lot more relevant to physical problems than a lot of people think (the maths behind it is very, very heavy though. It’d be a lifetime’s work trying to understand some parts of it.) It’s definitely ‘weird’ compared to the mechanics we experience on a daily life but I tend to think of it just as the rules for little things like molecules.

    • Photo: Matthew Camilleri

      Matthew Camilleri answered on 17 Nov 2014:

      It’s difficult but very powerful for understanding materials, especially on atomic scales. I probably use quantum physics every day, without actually knowing, considering that quantum physics would explain why my compounds tend to absorb a range of different wavelengths rather tehn a sharp one wavelength.

    • Photo: Andrew McKinley

      Andrew McKinley answered on 17 Nov 2014:

      I think it’s brilliant! It’s so counter intuitive too.
      Classical physics says that everything can be predicted. Seems reasonable – if something falls off a shelf, it is *going* to hit the ground unless you catch it. Quantum physics on the other hand – nothing is predictable – it is entirely based in probability! A photon (packet of light energy) might be absorbed by a molecule, it might not. All we know is a probability of it happening.

      As spectroscopists, we are working with the quantum world every day – only particular energies of light can be absorbed by a particular molecule, and this is the quantised energy of light showing itself.

    • Photo: Francesca Palombo

      Francesca Palombo answered on 17 Nov 2014:

      I need it to teach Physical Chemistry and Molecular Spectroscopy.

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