This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
The word “quantum” describes something very small but interest in the topic looms large for many of us at Scientific American. So we were pleased this year to partner again with the Centre for Quantum Technologies at the National University of Singapore on the Quantum Shorts 2014 Contest.
While last year’s contest was about short-form fiction, this year the quantum stories came together in a very visual way, with videos.
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The judges including Artur Ekert, co-inventor of quantum cryptography, my colleague Charlotte Stoddart, Head of Multimedia at Nature (Scientific American is part of Nature Publishing Group), and me selected a winner and runner up. We also have a people’s choice decided by public vote. More details, as well as the student winners, are available on the contest Web site. Hope you enjoy the work as much as we did.
Winner of the grand prize, “20Hz,” offers a hypnotically transfixing as well as handsome visualization of data captured during a geomagnetic storm in our planet’s upper atmosphere. Creators Ruth Jarman and Joe Gerhardt won SGD 2000 and a one-year subscription from Scientific American.
20hz (edited version) from Semiconductor on Vimeo.
Runner up and Peoples’ Choice favorite is “Breaking the Bond,” a quirky story of a man addicted to time travel via teleportation. Each prize was SGD 1000 and a one-year subscription to Scientific American.