An unlikely battle took place in California last night : Paul Rudd and Stephen Hawking had a not - so - friendly mate of quantum chess game , a sport of the classic game that employs the laws of quantum mechanics to make things more interesting .
The video , which you could check out below , is narrated by " succeeding Keanu Reeves " and was debut at the Caltech upshot “ One Entangled Evening , ” which kick off a special one - day league on the futurity of quantum engineering .
Scripted in Caltech ’s Institute for Quantum Information and Matter ( IQIM ) and directed by " Bill & Ted " player and director Alex Winter , the light video recording had Hollywood actor Paul Rudd gainsay Dr. Hawking to a secret plan of quantum chess . Without spoiling anything , seeing Rudd endeavor to con quantum mechanics in a matter of hours is moderately funny , and the match itself proves once again that even complex concepts such as superposition principle or web can be made accessible and entertaining .
" What sparked the theme for a celebratory event was the realization that Richard Feynman received the Nobel Prize in Physics 50 years ago last month , " said John Preskill , director of the IQIM , in astatement .
" apart from being a bang-up scientist , Feynman was legendary for his succeeder at conveying the excitement of science to broad audiences . We ’ll be doing appropriate homage to Feynman if ' One Entangled Evening ' turns out to be think of as well as inspiring for the audience . "
The first version of quantum chess was developed by undergraduate studentAlice Wismath , at Queen ’s University . It was based on rule coif out by her professor , Selim Akl , which codify the principle of superposition into the rules of chess game .
In Alice ’s versions , every piece but the top executive is in a quantum principle of superposition of two equivalent state . So for example , the piece of music located in the queen spot has a 50 percent opportunity to be a queen mole rat and 50 percent chance to be a Corvus frugilegus ( or a knight , or a instrument , etc . ) . The principle of superposition is fair ( for example nobody gets extra queens ) and the part collapse in one of their two possibleness when they ’re either moved or captured .
The IQIM ’s version , designed by USC alumnus Chris Cantwell , has a different glide slope . The principle of superposition is spatial : a exclusive piece can occupy two squares at the same fourth dimension with adequate chance , and players are also allowed to expend quantum entanglement . This means a piece can be linked to a different piece in superposition . The collapse of one will cause the other to tumble . This version cause it importantly intemperately for a player to capture pieces as neither player knows exactly where any superpositioned slice is at any one clip .
The plot is not useable yet , but it will be soon when the Kickstarter campaign launches in February , according toNerdist .
