I work for a quantum information research group at ICFO, a research centre in Castelldefels, near Barcelona, although we have many colleagues around the world.

In addition to promoting scientific and technological research, I think it is important to tell people about how the latest scientific advances can affect their lives.

In 2016, we coordinated an international project to conduct a quantum physics experiment with the collaboration of the public. More than 100,000 people took part in the Big Bell Test!

I am a partner in a small family business that makes furniture. A few years ago, I had solar panels fitted on the roof of the unit we use as a factory and warehouse. At that time, I found out a lot of information about it and was surprised to discover that it is quantum physics that explains the rules that underpin their operation!

Who would have thought quantum technology would help me save money as I helped save the planet?

I work at a company that designs and builds lasers, ranging from small ones like the pointers you can buy in a local shop to industrial lasers that can precisely cut all kinds of material or even weld metal. We also manufacture lasers used in operating theatres to perform precision surgery.

A unique technology derived from quantum interactions between light and matter with many different applications.

In quantum physics, measurement means extracting information from a system in some way.

Measuring a quantum system can change its state: for example, polarisation measurements can switch the polarisation from vertical to horizontal.

Contrary to what happens in the macroscopic world, in quantum physics the order of measurements can vary the final result.

Applications: increasing the security of cryptography. The inevitable effect of measurement on a particle's state may be evidence of a spy's presence.

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanners work thanks to the interaction of some of the particles in our body (hydrogen atoms) with very intense magnetic fields.

This technique is widely used in medicine to obtain images of soft tissues, such as joints and tendons. It is also useful to obtain detailed brain images that make it possible to identify aneurysms and tumours.

Quantum physics has allowed the birth of a first wave of technologies (such as lasers and transistors).

We can now control quantum particles at individual level and are arriving at the point of designing new disruptive technologies (second quantum revolution).

Examples: quantum computing, quantum cryptography, quantum simulators and quantum sensors.

Artificial intelligence has revolutionised technology in recent years. However, in order to be able to apply these techniques to the vast amount of data we have available, we need greater computing power. Quantum computers could be the answer to this problem, allowing us to expand the fields of application of artificial intelligence algorithms.

Moreover, artificial intelligence has contributed to significant advances in the field of quantum physics, helping us solve problems that are almost impossible to solve with traditional computing techniques.

Science and technology have improved and are continuing to improve our quality of life. However, many pressing and important challenges remain that need solutions that research cannot provide directly and quickly. Perhaps we should focus our efforts on reducing social inequalities, unemployment, hunger and poverty. Or can science and technology also help with these aspects?

Many of the technologies that we use nowadays derived from a very different research field. For example, the internet was created at an international particle physics research centre, CERN; satellite positioning systems (GPS, Galileo) owe their precision to the theory of general relativity.

Sometimes, research fields that, in principle, do not have obvious applications, generate useful technologies as side-effects. Should we invest in fundamental research for the potential benefits that would come from possible collateral applications? Or is the advancement of knowledge sufficient reason to put resources into research?

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.