Sir Peter Knight, “Why does Quantum Entanglement Matter?”

About the talk

It's 100 years since the discovery of quantum mechanics by Heisenberg, Born, Schrödinger, Dirac and colleagues. We now live in a quantum enabled world, with devices powered by quantum mechanics affecting our everyday world (lasers, telecoms, semiconductor chips and much more). But we are now exploiting in the UK National Quantum Programme new technology capabilities enabled by some of the stranger aspects of quantum physics: quantum coherence and entanglement. I will describe the counter-intuitive features of quantum science (being in two states at once, nonlocality etc) and show how they can be exploited in surprising ways in sensing, communication and quantum computing.

About the Stephen Gray Lectures

The Stephen Gray Lectures are free, public events held in Canterbury and named after the local scientist who was the first Copley Medallist, best known for his pioneering investigations of electrical conduction. They act as a focal point for the local public to engage with science. Each Lecture is delivered by a notable scientist, but in a language that the general public can understand and relate to. The Stephen Gray Lecture also brings together a broad swathe of the university community, from undergraduates to retired professors, from across the wide range of disciplines represented at Kent.

The Lecture was instituted by the University of Kent in the academic year 2016/17 and, since 2025/26, it is also kindly sponsored by the Institute of Physics London & South East Branch. The organiser of the Stephen Gray Lecture is Jorge Quintanilla.

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