Quantum physics for seven-year-olds | Dominic Walliman | TEDxEastVan
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0:15 - 0:19So, have you ever had this experience?
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0:19 - 0:21You're having a chat with someone
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0:21 - 0:24and they're telling you something
about a subject they're very interested in -
0:24 - 0:26or they know a lot about,
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0:27 - 0:29and you're following along.
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0:29 - 0:33Then, at some stage you realize you kind
of lost the thread of what they saying. -
0:33 - 0:35And then, you're standing there
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0:35 - 0:38and you realize you have absolutely
no idea what they're talking about. -
0:38 - 0:40(Laughter)
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0:40 - 0:44I had this recently with a friend
who knows a lot about investing. -
0:44 - 0:47And it's something I don't know
a huge amount about, -
0:47 - 0:50but it's very important,
very useful information. -
0:50 - 0:56But he started talking about
kind of diversified investment portfolio - -
0:56 - 0:57blah -
-
0:57 - 0:58(Laughter)
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0:58 - 1:02And unfortunately, I went away
with no useful information. -
1:02 - 1:05So, I think it's a situation
we all are familiar with, -
1:05 - 1:10and fortunately there's things you can do
to improve this situation, -
1:10 - 1:13which is what I'm going
to talk about today. -
1:13 - 1:17So, I'm a scientist.
I work in the area of quantum physics. -
1:17 - 1:22And so, I've been on both sides
of this kind of interaction. -
1:22 - 1:27I've both been the guy explaining
very complicated material to someone, -
1:27 - 1:29but I've also been on the receiving end
-
1:29 - 1:35of lots of very kind of intense scientific
discussions with my colleagues. -
1:35 - 1:38And, when this kind of breakdown
of communication happens, -
1:38 - 1:41I've noticed something interesting,
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1:41 - 1:45which is that, as a person
who's stopped understanding, -
1:46 - 1:48you feel kind of guilty about it.
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1:49 - 1:53But, if you think about it,
this is completely wrong, -
1:53 - 1:55it's the wrong way around
because at that point in time, -
1:55 - 1:59there's literally nothing you can do
to understand better. -
1:59 - 2:03But there is something that the other
person can do to help you understand -
2:03 - 2:06by finding a better way of explaining
what they're talking about. -
2:07 - 2:08And so -
-
2:11 - 2:15during my experience in science,
-
2:16 - 2:21I found that the only way to survive
was to kind of have the courage -
2:21 - 2:24to politely stop the person
who is explaining, -
2:24 - 2:28say, "I'm sorry, I don't understand
what you're saying," -
2:28 - 2:32and then try and go back and start off
from where I'd lost the thread. -
2:32 - 2:35And it does take
a bit of courage to do this -
2:35 - 2:39because you're kind of admitting that you
don't know, you know, the subject matter. -
2:39 - 2:43But I think that's OK, and in fact,
my fears were completely unwarranted. -
2:43 - 2:48Generally people respect you
if you care much about, you know, -
2:48 - 2:50knowing the right information
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2:50 - 2:52or care about, like,
understanding it properly. -
2:53 - 2:57So, I think we should never ever feel bad
about not knowing something -
2:57 - 3:00and we should never feel bad
about asking questions. -
3:02 - 3:05So, I do a lot of science communication,
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3:05 - 3:09and science really has
this communication issue with it -
3:09 - 3:13because generally
the subject matter is very complex. -
3:13 - 3:16And you might know
scientists are always complaining -
3:16 - 3:20about how their research
is being misrepresented by the media, -
3:20 - 3:25like "Drinking wine cures cancer."
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3:25 - 3:26(Laughter)
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3:26 - 3:28It totally doesn't, by the way.
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3:30 - 3:32But on the other hand,
you can kind of understand -
3:32 - 3:37how journalists will maybe
oversimplify things or get things wrong -
3:37 - 3:40because, to explain cutting-edge research,
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3:40 - 3:44you kind of need a PhD
in the subject beforehand, -
3:44 - 3:48and that's not something we can expect,
you know, the media, journalists to have -
3:48 - 3:51in all the different
scientific disciplines. -
3:51 - 3:55So, I think the world would be very
well-served by a whole load of people -
3:55 - 3:57who are really good
at science communication, -
3:57 - 4:02people who understand the science
but can also explain it in a way -
4:02 - 4:04that the general public can understand.
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4:04 - 4:06And this is important for many reasons,
-
4:06 - 4:08but one reason is you might know
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4:08 - 4:12that just about all the science research
that goes on around the world -
4:12 - 4:14is publicly funded.
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4:14 - 4:17So, it'd be nice if the general public
could actually understand -
4:17 - 4:20the work that their money
is going towards. -
4:22 - 4:28But for me, the even more important reason
that science communication is good -
4:28 - 4:31is because it's also interesting.
-
4:31 - 4:35The research going on is so fascinating
it'd be nice if people could access it. -
4:36 - 4:38Take my field for example,
quantum physics. -
4:38 - 4:42I find quantum physics to be
a deeply interesting subject, -
4:42 - 4:47but it's one that gets this reputation
of being incredibly difficult. -
4:47 - 4:52And that's fair, it gets complicated
when you get down into the details, -
4:52 - 4:55but it doesn't mean
you can't talk about it at all. -
4:56 - 4:57So, let me get a show of hands.
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4:57 - 5:01So, put your hand up if you don't know
what quantum physics is. -
5:01 - 5:03And if you don't, don't feel bad about it.
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5:03 - 5:05Raise your hand, you know.
Own your ignorance. -
5:05 - 5:07It's totally fine.
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5:07 - 5:09Okay, okay, right.
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5:09 - 5:16So, quantum physics is the description
of the smallest things in our universe. -
5:16 - 5:18So, if you zoom right down
smaller than cells, -
5:18 - 5:24down to the scale of molecules, atoms,
and things atoms are made of, -
5:24 - 5:29you know, subatomic particles,
protons, neutrons, electrons, -
5:29 - 5:33it just describes how they all work
and also how they interact with light. -
5:33 - 5:36And the interesting thing
about quantum physics is -
5:36 - 5:39it's like the fundamental rules
of the universe, -
5:39 - 5:44and yet, the things that happen there
are so very strange. -
5:44 - 5:48So, I'll tell you a few of the phenomena
that go on in quantum physics. -
5:49 - 5:53One you might have heard of
is called particle wave duality. -
5:54 - 5:57So, you can imagine
all these subatomic particles, -
5:57 - 6:01these protons, neutrons, electrons,
like little bouncy balls, -
6:01 - 6:03kind of bouncing around,
bouncing off each other. -
6:03 - 6:07But sometimes you have to treat them
as like spread-out waves. -
6:07 - 6:11And they kind of do both at the same time,
which is hard for us to imagine. -
6:12 - 6:14So, I'll paint a picture.
-
6:14 - 6:19Imagine dropping one of these bouncy balls
into like a pond of water. -
6:19 - 6:20The ball would disappear,
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6:20 - 6:25and then you'd get these ripples
going out over the surface. -
6:25 - 6:28Now, imagine one
of the ripples hits, say, a stick. -
6:29 - 6:32All of the ripples
on the surface disappear, -
6:32 - 6:35and by that stick suddenly
a bouncy ball pops out again. -
6:36 - 6:39That's kind of strange
for us to think about, right? -
6:40 - 6:42But this is the kind
of behavior that goes on -
6:42 - 6:45in the subatomic realm all the time.
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6:46 - 6:51Another phenomena you might have heard
is called quantum tunneling. -
6:51 - 6:54So, imagine I've thrown one of these
bouncy balls against a window. -
6:54 - 6:57So, it would be like bounce - oh, sorry -
-
6:57 - 6:59throw, bounce, catch -
-
6:59 - 7:02throw, bounce, catch -
-
7:02 - 7:03throw -
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7:05 - 7:07It's gone completely through the window.
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7:07 - 7:10It's not smashed it.
It's not interacted with it at all. -
7:10 - 7:12It's just suddenly
on the other side of the window -
7:12 - 7:14and you can see it flying away.
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7:14 - 7:16(Laughter)
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7:17 - 7:21If we saw that,
we'd think it was crazy, right? -
7:21 - 7:24But this goes on at the
subatomic realm all the time. -
7:24 - 7:26In fact, it's the only reason we exist.
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7:27 - 7:30So, you might know that, in the Sun,
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7:30 - 7:33the way it generates energy
is through nuclear fusion. -
7:34 - 7:38And nuclear fusion is when
two hydrogen atoms come together -
7:38 - 7:41and the protons in their nucleus
bounce off each other. -
7:41 - 7:43Now, if it wasn't for quantum tunneling,
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7:43 - 7:46they'd bounce off each other
and nothing would happen. -
7:46 - 7:50But what actually happens is
they quantum-tunnel into each other, -
7:50 - 7:53and that's what lets them fuse
and release the sunlight, -
7:54 - 7:57and without that sunlight,
we wouldn't exist. -
7:57 - 8:00So, we can thank quantum tunneling
for our existence. -
8:01 - 8:04Another phenomenon
is called superposition. -
8:05 - 8:06And it's a very fancy word,
-
8:06 - 8:11but all it means it something that can do
opposite things at the same time. -
8:11 - 8:12So, for example,
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8:12 - 8:14I can spin around one way,
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8:15 - 8:17I can spin around the other way,
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8:17 - 8:19but what would it look like for me
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8:19 - 8:22to spin around in both directions
at the same time? -
8:22 - 8:24(Laughter)
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8:27 - 8:30We can't do that, we can't imagine that,
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8:30 - 8:33but this is what these subatomic
particles do all the time. -
8:33 - 8:37And in fact, we can kind of do it,
at least bits of us can. -
8:37 - 8:40So, if you've ever been in an MRI machine,
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8:40 - 8:45what an MRI machine does is it finds
all the hydrogen atoms in your body -
8:45 - 8:48and makes them spin around
in both directions at the same time -
8:48 - 8:49in this superposition.
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8:49 - 8:53This is what allows us to see
inside of people's bodies. -
8:54 - 8:59So, it's interesting that all of this
physics seems so kind of abstract -
8:59 - 9:01and remote from our everyday experience.
-
9:01 - 9:05And yet, it's happening inside our bodies,
we're made of quantum stuff. -
9:05 - 9:09So, it's happening everywhere around us.
-
9:11 - 9:16And it's no just MRI machines
that we use tech like quantum physics for. -
9:16 - 9:19There's been a whole host
of other technologies that come about -
9:19 - 9:21because of our understanding
of quantum physics. -
9:21 - 9:25So, one of those
is our understanding of silicon -
9:25 - 9:27allowed us to invent the silicon chip,
-
9:27 - 9:30which is in every single
computer in the world. -
9:30 - 9:35So, the entire computing
infrastructure of the world exists -
9:35 - 9:37because of our understanding
of quantum physics. -
9:38 - 9:41And it's in other things, like lasers -
they're quite useful - -
9:41 - 9:43and nuclear power plants.
-
9:44 - 9:48And there's this other sound bite you
might have heard about quantum physics: -
9:48 - 9:51it's that no one really
understands quantum physics. -
9:53 - 9:54Well, that's actually wrong.
-
9:54 - 9:56We do understand
quantum physics very well, -
9:56 - 9:58and you'd kind of hope that we did
-
9:58 - 10:03if it forms the technology MRI machines
or nuclear power stations. -
10:04 - 10:06What they mean when they say that
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10:06 - 10:08is that when we try and picture
in our heads something -
10:08 - 10:11that can be both a particle
and a wave at the same time, -
10:11 - 10:14or something that can spin around
in two directions at the same time, -
10:14 - 10:17we find it very hard
to picture that in our heads. -
10:17 - 10:20But we can describe it all very well
using mathematics. -
10:20 - 10:24So, it's fascinating that something can be
so counterintuitive on one hand, -
10:24 - 10:28but yet, can be so practically
useful on the other. -
10:32 - 10:36So, I really enjoy explaining
science to people. -
10:36 - 10:39I make YouTube videos
and also write kids books -
10:39 - 10:42for the age range around seven
to eleven-year-old, -
10:42 - 10:45and I really like pushing myself,
I don't hold back on the science, -
10:45 - 10:48I like explaining the most
complicated subjects to that age. -
10:48 - 10:53So, quantum physics, nanotechnology,
relativity, rocket science, -
10:53 - 10:54those kinds of things.
-
10:54 - 10:56And I've come to the conclusion
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10:56 - 10:59that you can pretty much explain
anything to anybody, -
10:59 - 11:02as long as you go about it the right way,
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11:02 - 11:05and I've come up with a set
of principles I work by to do that. -
11:05 - 11:07So, I'm going to share these with you.
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11:07 - 11:12So these are my four principles
of good science communication. -
11:12 - 11:15And I say science, but it can be
any kind of technical communication. -
11:16 - 11:17Okay.
-
11:18 - 11:19So, number one:
-
11:19 - 11:22start off in the right place.
-
11:22 - 11:24So, everyone's got a different background,
-
11:24 - 11:27everyone's got a different
set of knowledge. -
11:27 - 11:30And it's our job
to explain the information -
11:30 - 11:32in terms that they already understand.
-
11:32 - 11:35It's no good leaving a gap
and starting from there -
11:35 - 11:37because they're not going to follow along.
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11:37 - 11:44It's better to, yeah, form the information
from what they already understand. -
11:45 - 11:46And how do you do this?
-
11:46 - 11:49It's as simple as asking them
questions about what they know, -
11:49 - 11:52or even starting an explanation
and then asking, -
11:52 - 11:57"Do you already get this?,"
or, you know, "Is this making any sense?" -
11:57 - 12:00And if you're talking to an audience,
-
12:00 - 12:03you have, you know,
to make your best guess, -
12:03 - 12:05and a show of hands can be useful too.
-
12:05 - 12:07It's always better to err
on the side of caution. -
12:07 - 12:11People generally don't mind hearing
information that they already know. -
12:12 - 12:13Okay.
-
12:14 - 12:15Principle two:
-
12:16 - 12:19don't go too far down the rabbit hole.
-
12:20 - 12:24People can only take on a certain
amount of information at any one time, -
12:24 - 12:27and we have to just be
realistic about that. -
12:27 - 12:29So, it's better to explain,
say, three things -
12:29 - 12:32that someone will
understand and remember -
12:32 - 12:35rather than barrage them
with a whole load of information -
12:35 - 12:38that kind of undoes all
of your good work, to begin with. -
12:38 - 12:41So, I could have carried on
talking about quantum physics, -
12:41 - 12:44but hopefully I gave you enough examples
that kind of piqued your interest -
12:44 - 12:47and you can go away with.
-
12:48 - 12:49Okay.
-
12:49 - 12:50Number three:
-
12:51 - 12:55clarity beats accuracy.
-
12:56 - 12:58So, when we're explaining
things with examples, -
12:58 - 13:03the temptation is to give the most
scientifically accurate explanation, -
13:03 - 13:07but they tend to be long
and kind of convoluted. -
13:07 - 13:10It's better to come up
with a simpler explanation -
13:10 - 13:14that maybe isn't completely
technically correct, -
13:14 - 13:16but it gets the point across.
-
13:16 - 13:21Imagine they're here,
and the complete explanation is here. -
13:21 - 13:24All you want to do
is just get them along that path. -
13:24 - 13:28So, for example, when I was talking
about spin in quantum systems, -
13:29 - 13:31the truth is actually
a little bit more abstract, -
13:31 - 13:34of spinning in these subatomic particles,
-
13:34 - 13:37but what I tell you is a good picture,
-
13:37 - 13:39and, you know, if people
are still interested, -
13:39 - 13:42you can always iron out the details later.
-
13:43 - 13:44Okay.
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13:44 - 13:46Number four:
-
13:46 - 13:49explain why you think it's cool.
-
13:49 - 13:50(Laughter)
-
13:50 - 13:52If you're explaining something to someone,
-
13:52 - 13:54you know, there's a reason
why you're doing it. -
13:54 - 13:58Either you think it's super important
or very, very interesting. -
13:58 - 14:00And the more that you can
convey that to someone, -
14:00 - 14:05the more likely they are to remember it
and kind of get some value from it -
14:05 - 14:06And you can do this in many ways.
-
14:06 - 14:10One way is just to show
your enthusiasm for the subject. -
14:10 - 14:14Another way is to show, using examples,
how it's relevant to their lives. -
14:14 - 14:18So, for example, quantum physics:
every time you turn on your phone, -
14:18 - 14:22you're invoking the fundamental
laws of the universe to do your bidding - -
14:22 - 14:24(Laughter)
-
14:24 - 14:26as you tweet photos of your cat.
-
14:26 - 14:28(Laughter)
-
14:30 - 14:32So, those are my four principles.
-
14:32 - 14:36So, I'd just like to leave on an anecdote.
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14:38 - 14:40When I meet people for the first time,
-
14:40 - 14:43and I introduce myself
and say I'm a physicist, -
14:43 - 14:46I get one reaction
more commonly than any other, -
14:46 - 14:50which is like, "Ooh, physics.
I was rubbish at physics in school." -
14:50 - 14:51(Laughter)
-
14:51 - 14:55And it happens so often it's such a shame.
-
14:56 - 15:00You know, science shouldn't be
about whether you're good at it or not. -
15:00 - 15:04It should only be about
whether you're interested. -
15:05 - 15:10And so, if you find science intimidating
or you have found science intimidating, -
15:10 - 15:14I just encourage you: there's so much
good information out there these days. -
15:14 - 15:17Just pick the subject
that you're interested in, -
15:17 - 15:19find some material,
-
15:19 - 15:22and then just, from there,
follow your curiosity. -
15:24 - 15:25Thank you.
-
15:25 - 15:27(Applause) (Cheers)
- Title:
- Quantum physics for seven-year-olds | Dominic Walliman | TEDxEastVan
- Description:
-
In this lighthearted talk, Dominic Walliman gives us four guiding principles for easy science communication and unravels the myth that quantum physics is difficult to understand, it's all in how it's explained.
Dominic Walliman is a physicist, and award-winning science writer. He received his PhD in quantum device physics from the University of Birmingham and currently works at D-Wave Systems Inc., a quantum computing company in Vancouver. Dominic grew up reading science books, and remembers vividly the excitement of discovering the mind-boggling explanations that science gives us about the universe. If he can pass on this wonder and enjoyment to the next generation, he will consider it a job well done.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 15:36
Leonardo Silva edited English subtitles for Quantum physics for seven-year-olds | Dominic Walliman | TEDxEastVan | ||
Leonardo Silva approved English subtitles for Quantum physics for seven-year-olds | Dominic Walliman | TEDxEastVan | ||
Mile Živković accepted English subtitles for Quantum physics for seven-year-olds | Dominic Walliman | TEDxEastVan | ||
Mile Živković edited English subtitles for Quantum physics for seven-year-olds | Dominic Walliman | TEDxEastVan | ||
Leonardo Silva edited English subtitles for Quantum physics for seven-year-olds | Dominic Walliman | TEDxEastVan | ||
Leonardo Silva edited English subtitles for Quantum physics for seven-year-olds | Dominic Walliman | TEDxEastVan | ||
Leonardo Silva edited English subtitles for Quantum physics for seven-year-olds | Dominic Walliman | TEDxEastVan | ||
Leonardo Silva edited English subtitles for Quantum physics for seven-year-olds | Dominic Walliman | TEDxEastVan |