What is Quantum Physics? Dancers Explain: Animations and videos

1. Regular oscillation: NIST’s microscopic aluminum drum, embedded in a superconducting circuit, has both classical and quantum properties. Like a percussion instrument it oscillates at a steady rate, or beat with a well-defined amplitude (drum height) or stored energy.

2. Random oscillation: The drum beats in an irregular, random fashion. Quantum randomness is more peculiar than this type of classical “noisy” motion.

3. Quantum superposition: The drum beats at one frequency (rate) and four different energies at the same time, a feature of the quantum world known as a superposition. Each energy state is indicated by a different color—blue, green, yellow or red.Type or paste content in this area.

4. Quantum entanglement and measurement: Four separate drums —blue, green, yellow and red—each in a different energy state, become entangled. Visually they merge into one synchronized, overlapping image, but this represents four separate, entangled drums. When a measurement is performed, shown by a particle of light bouncing off the entangled drums, the green drum is dis-entangled, leaving it independent of the other three drums.