Hundreds of physicists on a remote island: we visit the ultimate quantum party
Nature Podcast
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4.4 • 859 Ratings
🗓️ 13 June 2025
⏱️ 11 minutes
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Summary
According to legend, physicist Werner Heisenberg formulated the mathematics behind quantum mechanics in 1925 while on a restorative trip to the remote North Sea island of Heligoland.
To celebrate the centenary of this event, several hundred researchers have descended on the island to take part in a conference on all things quantum physics. Nature reporter Lizzie Gibney was also in attendance, and joined us to give an inside track on the meeting.
News: Happy birthday quantum mechanics! I got a ticket to the ultimate physics party
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Lou roll is not something you'd normally feel good about, but ours is not your normal loo roll. |
| 0:06.9 | It donates 50% of profits to help provide access to clean water and toilets, which means every we is more of a... |
| 0:14.9 | Wee! |
| 0:17.3 | And every number two is more of a number... |
| 0:19.3 | Two! |
| 0:21.6 | Switch to toilet paper that makes you feel... |
| 0:23.6 | Okay, you get the idea. |
| 0:26.6 | Who gives a crap? Feel good toilet paper. |
| 0:29.6 | Hi listeners, Benjamin here with another podcast Extra. |
| 0:39.9 | 2025 is a big year for all things quantum, |
| 0:44.1 | as it's 100 years since the birth of quantum mechanics. |
| 0:48.8 | One of the events marking this centenary is a conference that's currently going on |
| 0:53.4 | in a rather remote location. |
| 0:56.0 | Heligoland, an island off the coast of Germany. |
| 0:59.7 | One of the people at the conference is Nature's Lizzie Gibney, who's on the ground reporting on the event. |
| 1:06.0 | She joined me from a hotel lobby yesterday to tell us a bit more about what's been going on. |
| 1:13.4 | Lizzie, how are you doing? |
| 1:14.8 | I am well. I am struggling with island internet issues, but thoroughly enjoying being |
| 1:21.0 | surrounded by hundreds of quantum physicists. |
| 1:24.1 | So Heligoland is where you're at then. Paint pictures with words for those of us |
| 1:29.1 | who haven't been there because this is quite a small island off the north-west coast of Germany, right? |
| 1:34.4 | That's absolutely right. It's in the middle of the North Sea. It was a four-hour ferry to get here |
... |
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