/ 23 August 2004

Quantum physics: Curiouser and curiouser

An academic in Australia said on Monday she plans to teach quantum physics to children as young as five through a new series of books.

Through characters such as Ellie the Electron, Yvette Hancock from Monash University in Melbourne said young children might be able to grasp the bizarre concepts involved. In fact, she said, they might be better at it than adults.

”What I’d like to do is communicate that to children because I believe it’s possible,” she said.

”Children are the ideal audience for these very strange concepts because they have a vast imagination.”

Hancock said she hoped her books would be popular.

Quantum physics is the physics of the incredibly small. – Sapa-AFP