Quantum: the second revolution unfolds

Quan­tum is a field of research designed to under­stand the laws of the uni­verse, but also to devel­op tech­nolo­gies that are rev­o­lu­tion­is­ing a range of sec­tors such as health­care, space and electronics.

Destroy micro­scop­ic can­cer cells, cut out corneas, per­form MRI scans, replace old light bulbs with ener­gy-effi­cient LEDs, com­mu­ni­cate via fibre optics: all are made pos­si­ble by research into quan­tum physics and asso­ci­at­ed developments.

Today, we are on the cusp of what Nobel Prize winner Alain Aspect calls the “second quantum revolution”, which could lead to disruptive technologies such the quantum computer.

In this issue of 3.14, you’ll find his exclu­sive inter­view, as well as arti­cles by experts in the field that will help you bet­ter under­stand the uni­verse of the infi­nite­ly small.

What you’ll find:

• The basics: what is quan­tum physics and why is there talk of a sec­ond revolution? 

• The appli­ca­tions: which indus­tries are already ben­e­fit­ing from the advances of quan­tum technology?

• The com­put­ers: what is the poten­tial of quan­tum computing?