Un-melting Ice Cream and Giving Weight to the Stars, with Quantum Physics!

One of science fiction's greatest assets has been the word “Quantum”. Said in front of any other word, and suddenly we realise the nerdy character's hidden genius! But what does “quantum” really mean? In this talk, we demystify this science fiction troupe, uncovering that the true meaning of the word "quantum" in physics is far less scary and complicated than is made out. We will explore the “quantum revolution” of the early 20th century and discuss the experiments which led us to the incredible discovery of quantum mechanics. We will then discuss some quantum mechanics' powerful applications.

Stir milk into coffee and the pattern quickly disappears. Chaos makes things forget how they started. Physicists long thought the quantum world works the same way, losing all memory of its past.

But there’s a twist.

Some quantum experiments reveal special states called quantum scars that refuse to forget. Like an ice cream melting and refreezing into the same shape forever, these states show repeating behaviour instead of fading into randomness.

Using simple analogies, I’ll explain these exotic phenomena in research pioneered right here in Leeds.

What if gravity isn’t fundamental, but emerges from information and chaos? In this interactive talk, we’ll turn the pub into an physics lab. You’ll fly a spaceship, and then create gravity by adding entropy (quantum randomness) to a description of and space time so that the landscape “curves”, creating gravity. We’ll connect this idea to new ways of peeking inside black holes and how we might be able to simulate them using quantum computers. No equations, just pictures, play and the strange logic that makes our quantum universe tick!