Pint of Science: Carolyn Wood
Physics talks: a study in uncertainty
EQUS PhD student Carolyn Wood is presenting at Pint of Science!
When: Monday 9 May 2022, 6:00–8:30 pm
Where: Sea Legs Brewing Co., 89 Main Street, Kangaroo Point, Brisbane
Cost: $8, register at https://pintofscience.com.au/event/physics-talks-a-study-in-uncertainty
Hear about how our scientists are dealing with Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle to understand the weirdness of quantum physics, and how a fist does not always equal the sum of its fingers.
Speaker: Carolyn Wood
Title: Small to big: the limits of quantum physics
Summary: Quantum physics is weird, yet it underpins most of life and technology on Earth. How do we get to the familiar world we can see and touch from the world of quarks and atoms? Perhaps we can learn something from Einstein’s humble formula: E = mc2.
Bio: Carolyn is currently a final-year PhD student at the University of Queensland. She researches physics at the interface between quantum mechanics and general relativity, and how this might help the development of future quantum technologies.
Speaker: Dr Moji Ghadimi
Title: What is weird about quantum mechanics?
Summary: Soon after formulation of quantum mechanics, Einstein realised that it allows particles, a universe apart, to affect each other instantly. Moji will explain this and other quantum weird predictions in non-technical language.
Bio: Moji Ghadimi is a research fellow at the University of Queensland who works on AI, quantum computing and quantum physics projects. He has published papers on many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics and Einstein’s “spooky action at a distance”.
Speaker: Professor Ben Powell
Title: More is different
Summary: One of the most profound discoveries in science is that simple rules often lead to complex phenomena. Emergence is ubiquitous: one water molecule is not a fluid, one neuron is not conscious, and one DNA molecule is not alive.
Bio: Ben is a theoretical physicist interested in how quantum mechanics and emergence can fundamentally change the properties of particles in materials—eg, splitting the electron into smaller particles that cannot exist in the vacuum.
Major funding support
The Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems (EQUS) acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present.