photographist

“Quantum Physics is the Physics that describes atoms and particles. Quantum Physics laws may appear paradoxical since they are not the same as classical Physics laws which govern the objects that are familiar to us – objects that contain a large number of particles. Reality in quantum Physics takes a different form and what is really difficult to understand is that inside the « quantum reality » randomness is already included... Quantum reality is an ensemble of probability plus chance.
As a physicist, I chose to do outreach activities because I think that one of the most dangerous things for science is to appear to be hijacked by scientists. Concepts of quantum physics may be explained simply to the general public, and it is very important for this public to be able to meet scientists.

For me superconductors were love at first sight. They are materials whose properties can be understood only with quantum physics. In order to understand the mechanism of superconductivity in some of these materials, I perform low temperature experiments, under very high magnetic field. I measure their electrical resistance and their magnetization in different configurations and I also try to understand the nature of their « normal state » well above the temperature below which they become superconductors. They have two main properties : the first is to be able to conduct an electrical current with a resistance strictly equal to zero, hence without energy loss, and the second is total expulsion of the magnetic field. A very well known application of these materials is magnetic resonance imaging.”

Brigitte Leridon
Physicist at CNRS, École Supérieure de Physique et Chimie Industrielles de Paris

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