Dr Margaret Harris is an online editor for Physics World magazine and leads the quantum student contributors network, with a PhD in atomic physics from Durham University.
Quantum on the Clock
Are you in your final two years of school?
Can you explain quantum science or technology in a three-minute video?
Note: The competition is now closed. The 2025 competition winners will be announced soon.
- What is quantum?
- About the competition
- Competition rules
- Eligibility
- How to enter
- Judging and prizes
- Frequently asked questions
- Organisation and supporters
- Ideas and resources
- Contact
What is quantum? Is that the thing with the cat?
Yes! Schrödinger’s cat is a popular quantum thought experiment. Some systems such as tiny particles show quantum behaviour, where they can be in two places at once, called a superposition of states. Erwin Schrödinger pointed out that if cats can also be quantum, then they can be dead and alive at the same time.
But there’s lots more to quantum than cats and superpositions! The electronics in the phone or computer that you are reading this webpage on rely on quantum mechanics. People are racing to build quantum computers, which can perform many calculations at once. Quantum particles have been sent to space on satellites to enable ultra-secure quantum communication. There are experiments to show quantum teleportation, and debates about whether there are many quantum universes.
Physicist Richard Feynman once said, “I can safely say that nobody really understands quantum mechanics”. Can you help us prove him wrong? We challenge you to create a three-minute video about any aspect of quantum science or technology, that a high-school student can understand.
Watch Oxford PhD student Maria Violaris give a video summary of the competition below.
About the competition
- Create a video (maximum three minutes) on any aspect of quantum science or technology.
- Submit your video individually or in a team of up to four.
- Be creative! Use animation, drama, poetry, dance, or anything else.
- Ensure accuracy - mention if your topic is debated or controversial.
Competition rules
- If you are a team, you must be from the same school.
- Videos must be original and not promote specific companies or organisations, though they can be mentioned as examples of who is implementing a quantum technology.
- No copyrighted music, images, or footage, all images and audio must be original content only. It is not permitted to include small clips in “fair use”. See previous winning entries for examples of what is permitted.
- DO: Create your own images and animations to improve your video.
- DO NOT: Use images from other sources, even if they are freely available on the web.
- DO NOT: Take short video clips from other sources, we cannot accept entries that include material that was not produced by the entrants.
Download the 2025 terms and conditions (PDF, 144KB)
Eligibility
Open to students in the UK and Ireland, in their final two years of pre-university education: A-level, International Baccalaureate, Scottish Higher/Advanced Higher (S5/S6), Irish Senior Cycle, or equivalent.
We strongly encourage submissions from students of all backgrounds that are underrepresented in the physics community.
The competition is now closed. The 2025 competition winners will be announced soon.
Judging and prizes
Participant Review Round
To take part, entrants will be required to review other people’s entries. This means looking at and scoring up to five other submissions. These scores will help decide which entries go through to the final round, where expert judges will choose the winners. Entrants will need the support of the teacher or parent/guardian to participate in this Participant Review Round and details about how to take part will be shared with the teacher or parent/guardian making the submission after the competition closes. During the participant review round, participants must not distribute or share links to the videos they are reviewing.
Participant review is scheduled to take place over a two-week window in mid to late January; exact dates will be announced at the close of the competition.
Prizes
Cash prizes will be awarded to winners and runners-up of the competition, with the team cash prizes being shared between the team members.
Winners of "Best individual" and "Best team" prizes will also receive a one-year digital subscription to Physics World (to the email address of the teacher/parent/guardian) and an expenses-paid invitation to a prize-giving event, with the opportunity to network with expert quantum researchers.
| Category | Prize |
|---|---|
| Best individual video | £300 One-year Physics World subscription Prize-giving event invitation |
| Best team video | £300 One-year Physics World subscription Prize-giving event invitation |
| Most creative video | £150 |
| Best explained video | £150 |
| Most engaging video | £150 |
| Nine runners-up prizes for highly commended entries | £100 |
Judging criteria
- Creativity: How original is the presentation of the topic?
- Clarity: How understandable is the video to a 16-year-old with no knowledge of quantum?
- Engagement: How good is the video at capturing our attention, keeping it, and leaving us with something to think about afterwards?
- Accuracy: How well is quantum science and/or technology presented in a well-researched and non-misleading way?
Judges
Entries shortlisted after the Participant Review Round will be assessed by our expert judges. We are currently recruiting our judging panel for the Finalists’ Judging Round in early November. Read more about our judges below and keep checking as more judges join the panel.
Margaret Harris, Science journalist
James Millen, Quantum lecturer
Dr James Millen is a lecturer in photonics at King's University London. He runs The Quantum Workshop mobile experiment and lectures to the public at the Royal Institution.
Maria Violaris, Quantum science communicator
Maria Violaris is a PhD student at the University of Oxford and initiated the Quantum on the Clock competition. She communicates quantum science and technology through videos and writing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Organisation and supporters
This competition is organised by the Quantum Optics, Quantum Information and Quantum Control (QQQ) Group, with valuable support from organisations across the quantum community. Here’s a bit about who they are - perhaps one might even inspire your quantum video!
Organisers
The QQQ group is a special interest group with the IOP. We are a community of IOP members focused on quantum science and technology.
Supporters
National Physical Laboratory
The National Physics Laboratory (NPL) has more than 700 scientists and engineers delivering high accuracy measurements to enable current and future prosperity, security, and scientific advancement for the UK. Their quantum programme is developing the capability to support industrial innovation across quantum technologies for precision timing, sensing, secure communications and computing applications.
Find out more about the National Physical Laboratory.
If you need a hand getting started...
Contact
If you have any questions that aren’t answered here or in the Frequently Asked Questions please email the Quantum on the Clock competition team at [email protected].