The three award winners answered key questions.

Mr. Esert, you are doing research on complex quantum systems at Freie Universität Berlin. As with every Nobel Prize, one wonders: Did the right people get it, or who deserved the award more?
Of course, some are always missing, the award goes to a maximum of three people and there are many people doing research in this field. You have to start somewhere and yes it is a good choice. The three award winners answered one of the most fundamental questions and helped lay the foundations for quantum technology.

When you grow up with classical physics, what happens in the quantum world seems paradoxical and hard to imagine. For example, a particle can have two states at the same time. How long did it take to really understand quantum mechanics?
Time has passed. Today I have a very intuitive idea about it, where intuition is a mathematical way of thinking. It’s different from what happens when I see the sunset and think about what’s going on there. However, I think you can understand quantum mechanics without a long study.

Do you have an example?
I remember meeting an intern who was in the ninth grade at the time. We talked about Bell’s inequality, which is crucial to today’s Nobel Prize. Three hours later I cried with shining eyes: Now I understand, absolute coincidence exists: in quantum mechanics!

Quantum technology has been researched in laboratories for a long time, what application is most likely to reach our daily lives?
A quantum computer will take some time, but quantum communication, which enables secure data transmission, is already well advanced. This is already possible in fiberglass over distances of several kilometers. There are still difficulties with transmitting data via satellite, but I am nonetheless confident that the technology will be used soon.

to the home page