The invention of quantum mechanics a century ago marked the beginning of a wild ride. We’ve learned to accept that particles can pass through walls, exist in multiple places at once, be both particles and waves (or neither), pop in and out of nothing, travel back in time, and seemingly communicate instantaneously. Then there are cats that are both dead and alive, friends that observe the same event but see different things, fluids that flow with no friction, measurements with random results, teleportation and parallel worlds. It is as if the laws of physics were created by a great magician with a flair for the dramatic. Will the future of quantum physics be as full of surprises, bewilderment and paradigm-shifting ideas as has been the past? Many scientists think so.
Welcome to the second quantum century.
Whereas the past hundred years enabled us to understand and model a great variety of quantum systems — atoms, molecules, solids, superfluids, stars and more — the next century may bring transformative knowledge about the quantum origins of the universe itself. Almost every aspect of this future revolves around quantum entanglement, perhaps the most preposterous of all quantum phenomena. When two particles are entangled, they share the same fate even when separated by vast distances, so that measuring one instantly reveals something about the other. Once regarded as a quirk of nature, entanglement is today understood to play a deep and ubiquitous role in the physical world. For instance, entanglement shapes the properties of exotic “quantum materials”, which is an umbrella term for several novel classes of solids with extreme quantum properties. And it goes even deeper — some theorists propose that entanglement isn't just a feature of reality but rather its very foundation. In this view, space-time itself emerges from entanglement, much like a sweater takes shape from interwoven yarn.
Entanglement is also a crucial resource for new forms of information processing, secure communication and ultra-precise sensing. Thus, scientists are no longer merely observing entanglement but are learning to manipulate it. Technical challenges involved in entanglement control are huge, as a quantum system under study must be extremely well shielded from the surroundings. Scientists essentially need to master the art of "herding Schrödinger's cats" — that is, managing entanglement within a small, controlled set of quantum systems while preventing these systems from becoming entangled with the environment. But progress has been steady and impressive. While the first quantum century provided the foundational principles for transistors, lasers and atomic clocks, the ongoing and future work will exploit the most elusive and counterintuitive features of the quantum world — superposition, entanglement and quantum coherence — to build radically new technologies. Highly sensitive quantum sensors — capable of detecting minute changes in gravitational fields, magnetic fields and temperature — will advance our ability to study everything from biological processes to the structure of the universe itself. Quantum processors, which harness quantum superposition and entanglement to perform computations, will allow the efficient simulation of complex systems and the solution of intractable optimization problems. And quantum materials will lead to new types of low-power electronic devices that allow unprecedented control of the motion of electrons and their spins.
The exponential growth of quantum science over the past century has been accompanied by its branching into numerous specialized disciplines. They include, for instance, quantum optics, quantum materials, quantum computing, quantum cryptography, quantum sensing, quantum thermodynamics, quantum biology and some truly exotic-sounding areas such as circuit quantum acoustodynamics. Each of these disciplines has its own challenges, key questions, methods and tools, terminology and community. While each subfield has made remarkable strides on its own, many of the greatest future breakthroughs will likely emerge at the intersections of disciplines, where the exchange of ideas and methodologies can drive transformative insights. These fertile cross-disciplinary interactions are already starting to happen. For instance, grantees of the foundation’s Emergent Phenomena in Quantum Systems Initiative are applying concepts from quantum information theory to explain properties of quantum materials. Furthermore, they are using probes developed by quantum sensing experts to investigate solids, and approaches adopted from the field of quantum optics to manipulate materials properties. In turn, quantum materials show great promise as superior platforms for quantum computing and quantum sensing.
To peek deeper into the quantum realm and realize the full potential of quantum technologies will require continued exploration, interdisciplinary collaboration, and strong financial backing for foundational research.
The most profound discoveries in quantum science have not come from targeted technological goals, but from curiosity-driven research.
Quantum mechanics itself, initially seen as an abstract mathematical framework, eventually led to the development of entire industries. Private philanthropy is well positioned to accelerate the next quantum transformation by providing timely support for highly original and risky investigations, such as developing novel measurement tools that exploit quantum entanglement or creating entirely new types of complex quantum systems. A key niche for private funders is research that spans disciplines, which often does not fit the scope of traditional funding programs. The flexibility of private funding can help bridge gaps where conventional funding mechanisms fall short, enabling visionary projects that might otherwise struggle to gain initial traction. If one hundred years of quantum science has taught us that nature is inherently wild and defies rigid classification, why should we expect rigid funding schemes to foster innovation?
Like the greatest magic show in the universe, quantum mechanics has defied our logic, mocked our intuition, and turned many of our ideas about the world upside down. But the wild ride has just begun. Buckle up.
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