Quantum mechanics is commonly said to be a theory of microscopic things: molecules, atoms, subatomic particles. Nearly all physicists, though, think it applies to everything, no matter what the size. The reason its distinctive features tend to be hidden is not a simple matter of scale. Over the past few years experimentalists have seen quantum effects in a growing number of macroscopic systems. The quintessential quantum effect, entanglement, can even occur in large systems as well as warm ones - including living organisms - even though molecular jiggling might be expected to disrupt entanglement.

Whether you're completely new to the field, or have some prior knowledge, join Professor Vlatko Vedral, Co-Director of the Oxford Martin Programme on Bio-Inspired Quantum Technologies, for an intoduction to quantum, where he'll discuss his work on both the fundamental aspects of quantum physics as well as some potential applications to biology and technology.

This talk will be followed by a drinks reception, all welcome

This talk will be live webcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaUfZak8Ug4

About the speaker

Vlatko Vedral is Co-Director of the Oxford Martin Programme on Bio-Inspired Quantum Technologies at the University of Oxford and Professor of Theoretical Quantum Optics within the Department of Physics.

Throughout his career, he has held a number of visiting professorships at different international institutions. He has published over 200 papers on quantum physics and has written two textbooks, as well as a popular science book, Decoding Reality: The Universe as Quantum Information. Vedral studied theoretical physics at Imperial College, London, from where he also received his PhD on Quantum Information Theory of Entanglement.