logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2025
9m 7s

Hundreds of physicists on a remote islan...

SPRINGER NATURE LIMITED
About this episode

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


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Aug 21
Briefing Chat: New narcolepsy drug could unlock host of novel brain therapies
Nature staff discuss how an FDA-approved drug for narcolepsy could have promise beyond the condition, and the longest-lived human brain organoids yet.00:28 The promise of a new narcolepsy drugNature: First-of-its-kind narcolepsy drug opens door to new therapies for the brain05:53 ... Show More
12m 25s
Aug 19
A black hole's spin could finally be measured by a high-speed star
Star orbiting close to Sagittarius A* could reveal its spin — plus, how exoskeletons might change the way humans move.00:46 The star that could reveal a black hole’s spinResearch article: Dayem et al.13:23 Research HighlightsNature: ​​​​​​​Rattlesnakes’ own antivenom could protec ... Show More
29m 11s
Aug 14
Briefing Chat: Anthropic rolls out new AI watermark — will it make a difference?
In this episode:00:29 What does Anthropic’s new watermark mean for research?Nature: Can Anthropic’s invisible watermarks curb ‘AI slop’? Researchers remain sceptical10:57 Ticklishness is a distinct, specialized body sensation, research findsNature: Where are you ticklish? Researc ... Show More
16m 52s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2025
Helgoland: leading physicists to gather on the tiny island where quantum mechanics was born
100 years since Heisenberg made his mythical trip, a select group of quantum researchers will retrace his footsteps 
57m 45s
Mar 2024
Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the German physicist who, at the age of 23 and while still a student, effectively created quantum mechanics for which he later won the Nobel Prize. Werner Heisenberg made this breakthrough in a paper in 1925 when, rather than starting with an idea ... Show More
58m 2s
Mar 2024
Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the German physicist who, at the age of 23 and while still a student, effectively created quantum mechanics for which he later won the Nobel Prize. Werner Heisenberg made this breakthrough in a paper in 1925 when, rather than starting with an idea ... Show More
58m 2s
Mar 2024
Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the German physicist who, at the age of 23 and while still a student, effectively created quantum mechanics for which he later won the Nobel Prize. Werner Heisenberg made this breakthrough in a paper in 1925 when, rather than starting with an idea ... Show More
58m 2s
Nov 2022
Speaking to a Quantum Physicist about Quantum Computers and Irish Mythology
JC Seamus Davis is an Irish professor of quantum physics. We speak about the complex quantum world and contrast it with Irish mythology. We did this to celebrate Science Week 2022, which takes place from the 13th of November sfi.ie <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> H ... Show More
1h 20m
May 2021
1 - Dawn of a Quantum Era
On May 6th, 1981, at the MIT Endicott House, a group of computer scientists gathered together with elite physicists to make the case that quantum phenomena could be used for computation. Here, ideas that would influence the next four decades of quantum computing research and deve ... Show More
39m 39s