Sujet Semester question: a "Quantum" Rubik's Cube
Semester question

How does quantum research change our reality?

Welcome to the quantum world: where particles seemingly exist in multiple places at once and long-held certainties are shaken. Here, our understanding of the world is fundamentally shifting as groundbreaking technologies open new possibilities. Researchers of the University of Vienna are at the forefront of this development.
29. April 2025
Guest article by
Thomas Juffmann
Rudolphina Experts: Quantum research

Microscopy in the age of quantum physics

As part of the current semester question, Thomas Juffmann, head of the Quantum Optics and Microscopy research group at the University of Vienna, explains how quantum physics has contributed to the development of modern microscopes with atomic resolution and how it could further improve them in the future.
14. April 2025
Quantum physics

When there is no reality without observation

Quantum research is not just changing our technological reality, but also our conception of reality itself. Časlav Brukner, quantum physicist at the University of Vienna, explains why we simply cannot speak of an existing reality prior to observation. What does this bizarre outcome mean for the nature of physical reality? Philosopher Anne Sophie Meincke offers some clues.
2. April 2025
100 years of quantum research at the University of Vienna

The entanglement of physics and philosophy

The most successful theory of the present day, quantum physics is everywhere. To mark the 100th anniversary of this discipline, Rudolphina looks back at how researchers at the University of Vienna have shaped quantum research over the years – and continue to do so today.
19. March 2025
Semester question

New game, new rules: How does quantum research change our reality?

In the bizarre quantum world, different rules seem to apply than those in everyday life. Yet, we make use of its curious tricks every day – whenever we glance at our smartphone, scan items at the self-check-out till at the supermarket or use GPS for navigation. What will be possible once the last unsolved riddles of quantum mechanics are solved?
31. January 2024
Quantum entanglement in bent space

Between gravity and the quantum world

Physicists in the team of Philip Walther at the University of Vienna investigate how gravity works in the bizarre realm of quantum physics. Watch the video for a glimpse into their lab and their ambitions and read on to learn about a new precision experiment on the influence of gravity on quantum entanglement.
3. October 2023
Nobel Prize in Physics

Nobel Prize for Anton Zeilinger and his revolutionary "crazy ideas"

The Nobel Prize awarded to quantum physicist Anton Zeilinger is certainly a highlight of an extraordinary scientific career. Here you can read and watch a compilation of content relating to the Nobel Prize - from videos and photo reports to interviews and background information.
13. December 2022
Audimax Podcast with Anne-Catherine de la Hamette and Lee Rozema

Working on questioning essentially everything

Quantum physicists Anne-Catherine de la Hamette and Lee Rozema work on challenging the fundamental principles of physics and how we think of our everyday life. In this podcast, they talk about their work life: They discuss how experimentalists and theoreticians are entangled, how they deal with their own uncertainties and the current trajectories of their fields.
29. November 2022
Quantum Physics

Researching the Quantum World: What our universe is built of

At the University of Vienna, quantum physicists from different countries, ages and career levels, have one thing in common: Genuinely curious, they try to understand the fundamental building blocks of the universe. In the video, three researchers from the research group Quantum Optics, Quantum Nanophysics and Quantum Information tell us what drives them and take us on a tour of their workplace.
5. May 2021
Presenting... Physicist Valeria Saggio

Using quantum physics for machine learning

Valeria Saggio, doctoral candidate at the Vienna Doctoral School in Physics, investigates the bridge between quantum physics and artificial intelligence. Her team was able to demonstrate that the learning time of agents can be reduced when quantum physics is used in the machine learning protocol.

Semester question: How does quantum research change our reality?

What if playing with a Rubik's Cube did more than simply solve a puzzle – what if it simultaneously created worlds of new possibilities? Quantum mechanics defies our intuitive understanding of space, time, and causality, while challenging classical notions of certainty. For instance, in the quantum realm, particles can seemingly exist in multiple places at once, only to collapse into a fixed location upon observation – yet who's observation ultimately defines reality?

In 2025, we celebrate the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology – a research field in which the University of Vienna holds a leading position. As part of the semester question, academics from the University will offer exciting insights into their 'playing field' and explain how quantum phenomena overturn our worldview. New breakthroughs are paving the way for transformative technologies such as quantum computers and completely secure communication systems.

Discover the 'new rules' of the quantum world firsthand – directly from the academics at the University of Vienna – here in the Rudolphina magazine and under the #semesterfrage hashtag everywhere else! We will end the semester question with a podium discussion in the Main Ceremonial Hall on June 16th, 2025. 

About the Semester question

Each semester, the University of Vienna poses its academics a question that is of particular relevance to today’s society. You can find all current contributions by the University of Vienna’s academics in the Rudolphina magazine (in German) or on our social media channels under #Semesterfrage. The University of Vienna runs this project in cooperation with the Austrian daily newspaper "Der Standard" – starting with online contributions and ending with a closing event at the end of the semester.