在加州阿纳海姆的全球物理学峰会上，展出了一件引人入胜的“量子引擎”，它由蒸汽朋克艺术家Bruce Rosenbaum创作。这件艺术品的核心是一个可以容纳单个囚禁离子的真空室，象征着量子物理学中的布洛赫球和古代的天球仪。该作品连接了现代量子技术与历史技术，反映了量子信息与热力学的结合，被称为“量子蒸汽朋克”。Rosenbaum与物理学家合作，探讨了创造力与科技的交汇，预示着未来物理学领域的更多可能性。

💡Rosenbaum创作的“量子引擎”是一件蒸汽朋克风格的艺术品，外观精美，旨在展示而非实际运作。它的核心是一个小型的真空室，可以容纳单个囚禁离子。

⚙️该艺术品的设计灵感来源于量子物理学中的布洛赫球和古代的天球仪，象征着现代量子技术与历史技术的连接。外围的环状结构让人联想到亥姆霍兹线圈，用于屏蔽离子免受地球磁场的影响。

🔬该作品体现了“量子蒸汽朋克”的概念，结合了19世纪的热力学概念和21世纪的量子科学技术。物理学家Nicole Yunger Halpern参与了该作品的开发，她将量子信息用于研究热力学。

🗣️Rosenbaum与物理学家的合作，探讨了创造力与科技的交汇。他认为，这对于物理学家来说具有高度的相关性，预示着未来物理学研究的更多可能性。

From the Global Physics Summit in Anaheim, California

Some of the most fascinating people that you meet at American Physical Society meetings are not actually physicists, and Bruce Rosenbaum is no exception. Based in Massachusetts, Rosenbaum is a maker of beautiful steampunk objects and he is in Anaheim with a quantum-related creation (see figure).

At first glance Rosenbaum’s “quantum engine” fits in nicely at an exhibition that features gleaming vacuum chambers and other such things. While this lovely artistic object is meant to be admired, rather than being a functioning machine, a working version be made — at least in principle.

At the centre of the object is a small vacuum chamber that could hold a single trapped ion – which could be operated as a quantum engine. Lasers are pointed at the ions through the chamber windows and the chamber is surrounded by a spherical structure that represents both the Bloch sphere of quantum physics and an armillary sphere. The latter being used to demonstrate the motions of celestial objects in the days before computers.  But as someone who, many years ago, did some electron spectroscopy, the rings are more reminiscent of Helmholtz coils that would screen the ion from Earth’s magnetic field.

Past and future connections

In my mind, the object symbolizes the connection between the state-of-the-art today (the trapped-ion qubit) and the many technologies that have come before (armillary sphere).

While Rosenbaum does not have a background in physics, I think he has a kinship with the thousands of experimental physicists who have built devices that bear a striking resemblance to this object. But some physicists were involved in the development of this beautiful object. They include Nicole Yunger Halpern of the University of Maryland. Yunger Halpern is a theorist who uses the ideas of quantum information to study thermodynamics. She describes the field as “quantum steampunk” because like the artistic genre of steampunk, it combines 19th century concepts (thermodynamics) with the 21st century concepts of quantum science and technology.

I had a lovely chat with Rosenbaum and he had some very interesting things to say about the intersection of creativity and technology – things that are highly relevant to physicists. I hope to have him and perhaps one of his physicist colleagues on a future episode of the Physics World Weekly podcast.

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