João Ferreira received the Cogito Grant with |Hop>
João Ferreira, UNIGE, received the Cogito grant for his project “Teaching quantum with |Hop>”.
|Hop> is an educational tool for quantum physics, both in the classroom and at home. João started developing this card game in parallel with his thesis, with the aim of explaining his research and filling some gaps in the wider science outreach community. In this game, the board is made of atoms arranged in a crystalline structure. Each player starts the game by placing an electronic contact on the board from which electrons will flow and hop around in the crystal. The goal of the game is to successfully hop your electron onto an opponent’s contact to create a short circuit and win the game. By playing the game, you are unknowingly using elements of quantum mechanics and becoming familiar with some notions.
The grant will allow João to complete the development of the game and create a website. He then wishes to bring the game to classrooms in Switzerland and present it to teachers as a useful adjunct teaching tool for quantum physics.
