Erika Andersson, Strathclyde University

Venue: the College Club

Time: 7pm

Quantum mechanics doesn't make complete sense. In fact, if somebody claims they really understand it, you can be pretty sure they don't! Still, experiments show that nature agrees with quantum mechanics. Entanglement is one reason why quantum mechanics is so counter-intuitive. Two quantum systems, for example two atoms, can be entangled, `linked together', in a strange way. They almost seem to talk to each other even though they may be far apart. This can be applied to quantum teleportation and quantum cryptography, among other things - but not for 'quantum telepathy'! Come along and get a glimpse of the mindboggling quantum world.

Erika Andersson is a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellow in physics at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. She does not understand quantum mechanics, but finds it absolutely fascinating , precisely for that reason.

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First published: 21 September 2005