Cosmos
Cosmos is a quarterly science magazine. We aim to inspire curiosity in ‘The Science of Everything’ and make the world of science accessible to everyone.
By Cosmos
Inspiring kids to understand quantum mechanics relies on imaginative story-telling, if the recent “Cosmos Quantum Quest” is anything to go on.
To acknowledge the UN International Year of Quantum Science and Technology the CSIRO’s kids’ online science newsletter, Double Helix Extra, with Cosmos and The Australian Institute of Physics (AIP) challenged our readers to demonstrate how they would explain to kids aged 12-14 the details of quantum physics.
On the basis that such an explanation must be simple, we limited the opportunity to 250 words or a 90 second video.
Of the 19 entries, 5 were deemed useful or very good. The judges looked for two main qualities in the entries: scientific accuracy and the ability to engage a young audience.
They said: “Quantum mechanics can often be seen as an intimidating and abstract subject, but it’s really just a different perspective on the world around us.
“The strongest submissions captured this perspective effectively, presenting the science in a way that was both clear and captivating. They managed to simplify intricate concepts while staying true to the facts, encouraging students to think differently and explore further. We were impressed by the creativity and dedication in every entry, and it’s clear that there’s a strong passion for making science accessible and exciting for young learners.”
The best of the entries will be posted in Double Helix Extra, starting with this entry from Nathan Long at the University of NSW.
Quantum quest 1
The Quantum Bee
Imagine a bee, we’ll call it a classical bee. The bee’s wings flap up and down, up and down, up and down. We know that the bee’s wings are either up or they’re down, or they’re somewhere in between. If you could slow down their motion and looked closely, you could see the wings rotating between the up and down position. Now imagine a real bee. Can you tell if its wings are up or down? You can’t right? The wings almost seem like they’re both up and down at the same time! Hold that memory. Now, let’s shrink the bee down so that it’s a tiny bee, we’ll call it a quantum bee. In the quantum world, the bee’s still flapping its wings, but now we don’t know whether the bee’s wings are up or down (just like our memory). In this world, the wings are both up and down at the same time! In the quantum world, we would say that the bee’s wings are in a “superposition” of being up and down. However, if we take a picture of the bee’s wings using a high-resolution camera, the picture will show the wings being either up or down! When we observe the wings, their superposition collapses into either up or down in the quantum world. But if the bee’s flying around in the quantum world without being observed, then the wings are in that strange state between up and down, just like in our memory.
The President of the AIP, Nicole Bell, was delighted to see the positive response to the Quantum Explained Challenge.
“We set out to challenge participants to explain quantum mechanics in a way that would resonate with school students, and the effort we saw was impressive,” Bell says.
“The competition highlighted how powerful it can be to present complex science in an approachable and engaging manner. It’s been inspiring to see so many creative ways to make quantum physics relatable, and I’m excited to see how these ideas will help spark curiosity in young minds.”
Another entry from UNSW student Michelle Lucas was also described as “a good explanation” by the judges:
Quantum quest 2
Have you ever read a choose-your-own-adventure book with different endings and you can choose which one you read? Quantum science uses this idea of multiple possibilities to solve complicated problems.
Quantum focuses on understanding matter and the strange behaviour of certain particles. Everything around us is made of tiny particles called atoms. Atoms contain smaller particles: neutrons and protons in the centre, and negatively charged electrons moving in specific regions around them. Electrons are fascinating because they can spin upward or downward and can absorb energy to move away from the centre or release energy to move closer. The energy they absorb or release comes in small packets called photons (units of light energy).
Electrons and photons behave in strange ways. For example, we can’t pinpoint the exact location of electrons – only their likely region, we don’t know their energy level as they can “jump” to different levels, and we can’t be certain of their upward or downward spin. We can consider these multiple possibilities of an electron’s location, energy level, and spin by assuming all possibilities are true at once – this is called “superposition”. We can also apply this to photons. By considering all possibilities at once, we can solve complicated problems much faster as we can test a number of solutions at once rather than having to test them one at a time. This can be used to quickly find the fastest route from home to school, discover which medicines work faster or discover new technologies!
The Summer edition of Cosmos Magazine has 22 pages of articles about quantum research in Australia today.