Jonathan Oppenheim facts for kids

Jonathan Oppenheim is a professor of physics at University College London. He is an expert in quantum information theory and quantum gravity. These are exciting areas of physics that explore how information works at the smallest possible scales and how gravity affects the universe.

Life and Discoveries

Jonathan Oppenheim earned his first degree at the University of Toronto in 1993. He then completed his PhD at the University of British Columbia in 2001. His PhD research, called Quantum Time, looked at how time works in the strange world of quantum mechanics. His supervisor was a scientist named Bill Unruh.

After his PhD, in 2004, he worked as a researcher with Jacob Bekenstein at the University of Cambridge. Later, he moved to University College London.

In 2005, Professor Oppenheim and his colleagues, Michał Horodecki and Andreas Winter, made an important discovery. They found a new way that quantum information can be combined. This work helped them show that quantum information can sometimes be "negative," which was a surprising idea! Building on this, they developed new ways to understand how energy works in very tiny systems, like those at the quantum level.

In 2017, Professor Oppenheim and Lluis Masanes used quantum information ideas to learn more about the third law of thermodynamics. This law is about how cold things can get. They also figured out how fast information can be erased.

In 2023, Professor Oppenheim suggested a new idea about how general relativity (which describes gravity) and quantum field theory (which describes tiny particles) might connect. He proposed that spacetime (the fabric of the universe) might be smooth and continuous, not made of tiny pieces. However, he suggested it could still have small, random wobbles.

Fun with the Edible Ballot Society

When he was a student, Jonathan Oppenheim was part of a group called the Edible Ballot Society. This group used humor to point out issues in how elections worked. They once tried to bring attention to problems by suggesting people eat their ballots!

He was involved in protests at the 1997 APEC meeting held at the University of British Columbia. His group was also known for a playful stunt in 2001. During a big meeting in Quebec City, they managed to bring a large catapult into the old city. They used it to launch teddy bears, which was a funny way to make a point!

External links

• Jonathan Oppenheim's Homepage at UCL
• Jonathan Oppenheim's Homepage at University of Cambridge
• Jonathan Oppenheim's Homepage at Hebrew University

See also

In Spanish: Jonathan Oppenheim para niños