Thales and the challenges of quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics, which was born in the early 20th century, is the study of the behaviour of elementary particles such as atoms, neutrons, photons and quarks. Major advances were made in the field immediately after the Second World War, with the invention of the laser and the transistor. This in turn led to applications that we still find in every area of our day-to-day lives, including laser beams – in BluRay players and in medical equipment – barcode readers, microelectronics, and the atomic clocks that are at the heart of cars’ satnav systems.
Today, a new revolution is on the way.
The use of the quantum properties of matter gives us a glimpse into the improvements that can be obtained compared to conventional measuring instruments: factors of between 10 and 100, and even, in some cases, of up to 1,000. This will open up countless opportunities from an industrial point of view – from cars and defence to health and the environment – since there are no limits to how inventively this technology can be applied.
Find out how Thales is laying the groundwork for this new revolution.
