2025 marks the centennial of quantum physics. No theory of physics has ever had such spectacular success. From ignorance about the structure of matter, quantum mechanics has brought us, in less than a century, to an understanding so broad, powerful, and precise that virtually all contemporary technology relies on it. The theory has enabled us to make sense of phenomena far beyond anything technology has yet been able to exploit. And all this, despite the fact that nobody truly understands quantum physics.

Frank Verstraete is the Leigh Trapnell Professor of Quantum Physics at the University of Cambridge. He has received several prestigious prizes for his research, including the Lieben Prize (also known as the ‘Nobel Prize of Austria’) and the Francqui Prize. He is among the leading researchers in the world on quantum physics.

Céline Broeckaert is a Romance languages scholar, playwright and author. She co-founded Filmpact, which uses documentary film as a tool for social change and ecological awareness.

In this Enlightening Minds lecture and in their book Why Nobody Understands Quantum Physics, this husband-and-wife team demystify this essential branch of science. Together, they unravel the reasons the universe behaves in its weird ways and just why it’s so important to understand them.