1. Australia raises eyebrows by splashing A$1bn into US quantum-computing start-up PsiQuantum
Below are the opening comments to an article in Physics World, the publication of the UK-based Institute of Physics (IOP). Note: There are some errors, most sources say the company was found by two Australians, Profs Jeremy O'Brien and Terry Rudolph. Other more comprehensive and authoritative sources are listed below.
"The Australian government has controversially announced it will provide A$940m (£500m) for the US-based quantum-startup PsiQuantum. The investment, which comes from the country’s National Quantum Strategy budget, makes PsiQuantum the world’s most funded independent quantum company.
Founded in 2015 by five physicists who were based in the UK, PsiQuantum aims to build a large-scale quantum computer by 2029 using photons as quantum bits (or qubits). As photonic technology is silicon-based, it benefits from advances in large-scale chip-making fabrication and does not need as much cryogenic cooling as other qubit platforms require."
Other sources:
- National Quantum Strategy: The Australian Government's Strategy with sections on i) six quantum technologies, with descriptions of 5 year, 10 year and 20 year horizons, ii) job opportunities and iii) Collaboration across states and territories.
- Aust Academy of Sciences article: An AAS article of some depth
- The Conversation: Article by A/Prof Chris Ferrie at UTS and author of Quantum Physics for Babies
2. PD on SACs in June
Dates: After school program over two days - Weds, 5th June, Weds 12th June
Times: 5:00pm to 6:30pm, 2 x 45 min sessions, each day
Format: Weds 5th June: Choice of on-line or in person at Kew High School
Weds 12th June: On-line only
Cost: None
Purpose: The revised Study Design for 2023 – 2027 has a significant change in how the assessment tasks are designed. There are only four formats and each must be selected once across Units 3 and 4 for the four Areas of Study. The Unit 4 Practical Investigation has its own format.
You choose the format to assess each Outcome Statement. The formats are listed here.
- application of physics concepts to explain a model, theory, device, design or innovation.
- analysis and evaluation of primary and/or secondary data, including data plotting, identified assumptions or data limitations, and conclusions.
- problem-solving, applying physics concepts and skills to real-world contexts.
- comparison and evaluation of two solutions to a problem, two explanations of a physics phenomenon or concept, or two methods and/or findings from practical activities.
By June, you are likely to have completed two assessment tasks with two of these formats, with two more tasks later in the year with the other two formats.
The PD will enable you:
- to share your experiences of using two of the formats for assessment tasks so far this year and
- to learn from the experiences of others for developing tasks for the other two formats yet to be used.
Registration: When you register you will be asked to complete a table like the one below on the formats of the assessment tasks that you have completed so far:
| Assessment Tasks done so far |
| Areas of Study in Unit 3 |
Format: A, B, C, D or Yet to do |
| Motion in 2D |
? |
| Fields |
? |
| Electricity Generation |
? |
To Register click here
Program Structure:
- 5th June, Session 1: You will be grouped by one of the formats you have used so far.
- 5th June, Session 2: You will be grouped by the other format.
- 12th June, Sessions 3 and 4: You will be grouped by each of your other two formats.
Sessions 1 and 2: Each group in Sessions 1 and 2 will have a moderator. There will be at least 4 groups in each session, one for each format. Group discussion: You will have a chance to describe the assessment task you used, commenting on what worked well, what did not go to plan and how you would do it differently next time. You are encouraged to bring or upload copies of the task to share with the group.
The moderator will record the comments and suggestions. There will also be questions specific to the format. The moderators will also be looking after the same format in Session 2.
Sessions 3 and 4: The ideas from Sessions 1 and 2 will form the basis for presentations by the moderators. You will also have an opportunity to share with the group your plans for your next assessment task and garner ideas from the plans of others.
Seeking Moderators: This is an important role and a useful addition to a CV. Please consider offering to help when you register.
3. Events for Students
Girls in Physics Breakfast for 2024
Bookings are open and flyers are available for confirmed events.
- Wodonga, 30th May, Speaker Dr Renee Goreham, University of Newcastle, Topic: Nanobiotechnology: Building the Future of Medicine and Beyond
- Bendigo, 1st August. Speaker: Dr Nadia Zatsepin, La Trobe University, Topic: Making molecular movies with X-ray lasers.
- Geelong, 15th August. Speakers: Prof Bre-Anne Sainsbury, Prof Wendy Timms, Deakin University, Topics: a) The Gentle Art of Breaking Stuff, b) Locking Carbon in the Ground: How, When, Where?
The cost this year is $25 per student inc GST with the first teacher free. A discount is available.
Please check the website for more details. Bookings can now be made for the ones with confirmed dates. The others will open for bookings as venue and speaker details are confirmed.
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4. Events for Teachers
a) Out-of-Field PD for Science Teachers: Forces and Motion, Electricity All in-person
There next one is on Electricity, done in person in the after-school format at John Monash Science School, on Thursdays, 16th May to 20th June from 4:30pm to 6:30pm.
Then Forces and Motion will be at Leongatha on 12th and 19th June. The cost is $220 and there is CRT coverage for Government schools.
Check here for details for these events.
Material is being developed for PD on Light and Sound, and Energy which are expected to be 
conducted in the 2nd half of the year.
b) Special Relativity: On line PD Term 2
Theo Hughes will be repeating of last year's online PD on Special Relativity in Term 2. It will be on Thursdays, 16th May to 20th June, from 4:30pm to 6:30pm.
The cost is $265 with discounts for Vicphysics subscribers
Check here for details.
i) Vicphysics Forum: Tips and Questions for the Physics Teaching Community
The Vicphysics Teachers’ Network has set up an online Forum for teachers to raise issues, seek ideas, offer suggestions, etc. The link is on the top line of our website’s home page: https://www.vicphysics.org/ We hope it will be an opportunity for mutual professional development.
The forum is open to all teachers. If you are a subscriber you can login in the usual way. If you are not a subscriber you can register to just use the forum at ‘My Account’. Given the purposes of this Forum, we ask that you use your real name when generating a topic or a lodging a post.
We hope this Forum will become a valuable medium for the exchange of ideas as we begin planning for the new study design.
ii) Subscriptions: A Vicphysics subscription gives you access to the Teachers section of the website. The subscription will last for a year from the day payment is received. Both individual and school subscriptions are available. Check the homepage for subscription link.
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6. Physics News from the Web
Items selected from the bulletin of the Institute of Physics (UK).
Each item below includes the introductory paragraphs and a web link to the rest of the article.
a) 3 Body Problem: a deep dive into the Netflix show
A Physics World podcast that explores the science, politics and ethics in the Netflix series 3 Body Problem., The multi-layered story centres around humanity’s first contact with an alien civilisation. As the drama unfolds, with physicists among its lead protagonists, the plot navigates the challenges of communicating with aliens across interstellar space – and the inevitable tensions that arise on Earth. The podcast includes: matt Mckenzie: the series’ science adviser, a particle physicist at the University of Cambridge, Jennifer Ouellette, a Science writer and Hannah Little: a linguist at the University of Liverpool who is also a member of the SETI Post-Detection Hub.
b) Protecting phone screens with non-Newtonian fluids
New research shows that phones could be strengthened by adding a layer of material to the screen that fluidized during an impact. In a paper published in PNAS, the team from the University of Edinburgh and Corning, a US-based materials company, developed a mathematical model of an object hitting a phone screen. Using modelling and experiments they identify the optimized fluid properties for this application. Their results show that fluids that become runnier during impact are most effective at protecting the screen.
c) What lies beneath: unearthing the secret interior lives of planets
Humanity has a remarkable drive for exploration. We have sent astronauts 384,400 kilometres out into space to walk on the Moon; delivered rovers and helicopters roughly 225 million kilometres away to survey Mars; and sent probes a whopping 24.3 billion kilometres out to the furthest reaches of our solar system. It is remarkable, then, that when it comes to our own home, we have literally only scratched the surface – the deepest hole ever dug reached less than 1% of the distance to the centre of the Earth.
The question of how we get to grips with the other 99% of what lies under our feet – not to mention beneath the surface of other worlds – is the subject of this sparkling new book, “What’s Hidden Inside Planets?” by Sabine Stanley, a physicist at Johns Hopkins University
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