Nobel Laureate Anthony J. Leggett delivered a speech in Zhejiang University
2010-02-27 |
Does the world obey the law of quantum mechanics in our daily life? On the afternoon of Feb. 27th Prof. Anthony J. Leggett, Nobel Laureate, made a speech on Zijinggang Campus, which drew many teachers and students’ attention.
Professor Leggett is widely recognized as a world leader in the theory of quantum physics, and his pioneering work on superfluidity was recognized by the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physics. He has shaped the theoretical understanding of normal and superfluid helium liquids and strongly coupled superfluids. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Russian Academy of Sciences (foreign member), and is a Fellow of the Royal Society (UK), the American Physical Society, and American Institute of Physics, and Life Fellow of the Institute of Physics. He was knighted (KBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 2004 "for services to physics".
President Wei Yang had a warm discussion with Prof. Leggett before his speech and gave him a great ovation. President Yang said, “Prof. Leggett studied philosophy in his early life and then turned into physics to make a great achievement thanks to his impressive talent.”
In the speech “Does the world obey the law of quantum mechanics in our daily life?” Prof. Leggett said that quantum physics had succeed in describing the nature in atomic level, but the explanation of the theory meant that the result was uncertain until the experiment was observed. The problem has been regarded as a purely philosophical issue for decades. However, the situation has totally changed in the recent ten years. He also introduced the experiment development and visions of quantum mechanics to the teachers and students.