Learn the art of quantum kung fu

Most people who find themselves placed in an armlock by an attacker normally flounder wildly and desperately attempt to wriggle their way out of it. One person who would take a more measured approach is quantum researcher and kung fu expert Felix Flicker. In this short film, Flicker explains and demonstrates how a quirky feature of quantum mechanics is the inspiration for a martial-arts manoeuvre that can get you out of this sticky situation.

The unlikely kung fu master behind the move is the notoriously reserved physicist Paul Dirac. In his Nobel-prize-winning work of the early 20th century, Dirac noted that particles known as spinors – including the electron – appear to defy everyday experience by requiring two full rotations before they return to their original orientation. He went on to explain that this property is not just limited to the quantum scale, but can also apply to tethered objects at the macroscopic scale.

Flicker, who is a quantum researcher at the University of Bristol in the UK, has realized that this "spinor" behaviour is also present in one of the classic kung fu defence moves. He explains that a technique that kung fu fighters use to break free from armlocks involves them rotating their wrists through 720 degrees, which allows them to slip out of a weak point in the grip of the attacker. In our short film, Flicker, aka "Felix the Praying Mantis", explains the logic behind the move and then acts out a dramatization of a fight scene with his comedy foe "Lulu Lightfingers" (played by Physics World's features editor Louise Mayor).


More:http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/multimedia/2014/dec/02/learn-the-art-of-quantum-kung-fu