Carlo Beenakker Group - Theoretical Nanophysics

Our world is shrinking, or at least our electronic devices are. From PCs to mobile phones: everything is smaller and thinner. The smaller the chip, the better it can conduct electricity and pass on information.

We are able to make these chips smaller, because our knowledge about the smallest particles in the world, such as electrons and protons, is increasing. How small are these particles? Imagine the tip of a human hair but then thousands of times smaller. Leiden physicist Carlo Beenakker knows all about this world. He looks at the behaviour of these particles and considers how this knowledge can be used to develop new technologies. He is currently considering how to build a quantum computer in a laboratory.