One of my favourite YouTube channels is one in which a young engineer explains how everyday objects work.

Just yesterday she explained how our cell phones contain lots of transistors and other parts made of semiconductors that are the basic building blocks of digital electronics. All this could not be done without understanding the quantum properties of semiconductor materials that are the basis of these parts.

I did not know I had quantum technology in my pocket! Yeah!

I was so taken up with the strange properties of quantum physics that I wrote my research project on it. It is not easy to find detailed information about this subject, so I contacted people who work at ICFO, who gave me study materials and helped me clear up many of my doubts.

I not only learned a lot about emerging quantum technologies: my project won the high school graduation prize!

I am a biochemist and I research new substances that could become medicines to cure diseases that are currently incurable.

One of the lengthier parts of the process of developing a possible new drug is finding out the effects it would have on organisms.

With the emergence of quantum computers we could significantly improve our simulation programs and this could dramatically reduce the need to experiment on living beings.

Every day we share a great deal of private information (personal, financial or health data) that could be intercepted: the cryptographic protocols that currently protect them would not work with computers more powerful than current ones.

One solution could come from quantum physics, which makes it possible to design cryptographic protocols that would resist attacks by any computer (present or future). There are still many technological challenges to be able to integrate quantum cryptography systems into the current telecommunications network: solving them is the objective of CiViQ. This is a European Quantum Flagship project that ICFO coordinates and that involves other research centres, universities and large and small businesses, including the Quside and LuxQuanta spin-offs that ICFO founded in recent years.

Photo: One of ICFO's laboratories where quantum cryptography technologies are being developed

Many of today's everyday technologies are based on phenomena that can be explained by quantum physics.

Examples: lasers, the transistors that are the basis of electronics, MRI imaging systems, photovoltaic cells, LEDs, GPS, etc.

All of these technologies, which are essential for modern life, are part of what is known as the first quantum revolution.

The small changes that light undergoes when it crosses spaces and materials can help us measure many features of the world around us, such as distance and temperature, with high precision.

ICFO is working to produce increasingly resistant sensors to measure temperature and electrical fields in extreme conditions, such as a fire.

We are also researching how to build ultra-sensitive sensors thanks to the properties of quantum physics, such as scales that can detect the presence of just one atom with carbon nanotubes and cold atoms that could measure the small magnetic fields generated by our brains.

Photo: Prototype of an ultra-sensitive magnetic field quantum sensor.

Quantum dots are nanoparticles that have the interesting property of emitting and absorbing specific colours of light, which can be adjusted by changing the size and composition of the dot.

Applications: macromolecular markers, microscopy, computing, improving the efficiency of photovoltaic cells and LEDs, etc.

There are already LED televisions that work with quantum dots.

On many occasions throughout the history of science a new theory has replaced an older one: heliocentrism supplanted geocentrism, evolution supplanted catastrophic and Lamarckian theories. No-one can be sure this will not happen with quantum physics.

Should we then worry that all the efforts we are making now in this field will one day be in vain? Or can we carry on calmly, given that the current theory works for the moment, that is, it allows us to make predictions and develop new technologies?

It is not easy to predict when a particular technology will be available to society: for example, nuclear fusion has appeared to be close to solving the problem of energy production for years, but there are always unforeseen technical problems that push it further away. On the other hand, some technologies that are now all around us, such as lasers, arose from curiosity about fundamental questions, such as the interaction between photons and matter, without a specific application in mind.

How do we choose the fields of research that will provide the greatest benefits?

Their applications in all fields of human activity will radically change our lives, just as electricity and electronics once did. We must invest as much as we can in their development, to make them commercially viable as soon as possible. 

We should not be fooled by illusory promises. We have gone very far with traditional technologies and we still have a long way to go: we should keep the current investment in quantum technologies at the same level. Let scientists do their work and continue to research, focusing on maintaining and improving the technologies that we already have. 

Research into quantum physics and its applications is positive, but we currently have other far more important and pressing issues, such as hunger, poverty, wars and terrorism. Let us maintain research, but invest our money to find solutions to the major problems our society has today.  

Quantum technologies are very promising, but if they are to be effective, they require solid knowledge of their foundations. We should invest in fundamental research: a better understanding of the foundations of quantum physics will naturally lead to the development of its applications.