QUANTUM OPTICS TREASURE HUNT
The Photonic Trail
Welcome to the Photonic Trail!
The Photonic Trail is an immersive quantum optics single-player game that allows anyone from beginners to seasoned pros to grasp quantum optics concepts through game play. It is a treasure hunt with six missions that span the basics of quantum optics.
Watch the trailer
How to play
1. Dive into the story
Travel through the Photonic Trail, chapter by chapter, and get one step closer to becoming a Master of Light!
2. Pull off your mission
With every story comes your mission:
it's time to roll up your sleeves
and get hands-on in the lab!
3. Venture forth
Every succesful mission will grant you a passcode: the journey continues!
‼️ At the moment, The Photonic Trail is playable on large-screen devices only.
If you wish, you can use the audiobook option to listen to the story on your mobile device, but the mission can only be performed on a larger screen.
Get ready for the adventure
A wise traveler gets to know their tools before embarking on an important mission!
We recommend any first-time traveler —or any traveler who want to refresh their memory— to get a careful look at this introductory guide: you will find the game objectives, the overview of the quantum optics lab, and you will get acquainted with the tools you are going to need in your missions ahead.
To get the vibes from the Photonic Trail right from the start,
we recommend playing this audio while you read:
Into the Lab
In this game you will learn all about photons, laser light, qubits, quantum superposition, and quantum entanglement. You will get acquainted with more concepts from quantum optics, the field which focuses on how light quanta called photons interact with atoms and molecules.
Each mission in the Photonic Trail involves an interactive virtual lab, in which you will be able to simulate different experiments, using a variety of components and interactions, just as if you were in a physical quantum optics lab!
How does the Virtual Lab work?
The lab, powered by Quantum Flytrap, puts your quantum optics skills at work, while keeping close to the real world set-up as much as possible. So it's time to get to know where you will conduct your experiments before embarking on the journey.
The central area is the optical table, your experimental table—consider it the area in which you will perform experiments just like a real-life lab!
The frame on the left of the table has a bunch of curious-looking shapes and objects, sorted by category. These are all the optical elements available in Quantum Flytrap to build a lab and resembling the real-life lab components.
The frame on the right show the different outcomes of the simulations you are conducting. There are different sections where you can observe the results, including entanglement states and amplitudes.
The Photonic Trail won’t require this level of details or the elements mentioned in this specific box for your treasure hunt, but feel free to explore further any item that sparks your curiosity!
By dragging different elements from the element frame and placing them on the experimental table, several experimental setups can be created.
You can interact with each item on the table: by left-clicking on it, its direction can be changed, and by right-clicking on it, properties can be read and tinkered.
Feel free to experiment with the lab and get familiar with the overlay at your own pace, as you will find also a brief tutorial-guide in the lab.
Each mission you will go through will unveil a new way to interact with the lab and its components.
All the specifics of the mission can be found in the Mission section, while if you need more hints or are curious to explore the physics behind it, you can explore the Lab section at the end of the page.
Into the Real Lab
The Virtual Lab of the Photonic Trail is based on a real quantum optics lab.
All the components, elements, and experiments you will test in the virtual lab are what quantum physicists work with in a real quantum optics lab.
The real-life pictures you will come across in your Photonic Trail journey are courtesy of the Laboratoire Kastler Brossel (LKB), located in Paris, France.
Scientists working at the LKB carry out research into different aspects of quantum physics, from fundamental tests to applications.
One of their 11 teams is entirely dedicated to Quantum Optics, explored further through research in Quantum Network, Multimode Quantum Optics, Quantum Fluids of Light, and NanoPhotonics.
Throughout the Photonic Trail adventure, you will have the chance to explore a real lab too, and you won't be alone! Your special guide into the real lab will be Dr. Francesca Sansavini, who will take you around the quantum optics lab at the University of Oregon – get ready to gain the insider's perspective!
Along your journey, you will learn more about the Quantum Optics Lab and its real-life components!
For now, keep in mind the following best practices:
1. An optics lab can be dangerous for your eye sight, so always wear your goggles in the (real!) labs!
2. A real lab can be quite noisy too, as you can hear from this short clip!
Worry not — in the Photonic Trail you won't be able to hear this noise as much, so you can fully focus on learning something new about the quantum optics lab!
Art Tales from the Trail
The pieces of art you will encounter on your journey within the Photonic Trail have been handmade by artist Sibel Kantola.
Each creation illustrates a part of the story from the enchanted world you explore in the Photonic Trail.
You can explore all the illustrations in the dedicated Photonic Trail Exhibition page.
Learn about Sibel's work and get to know the behind-the-scenes of the Photonic trail original art in the video below.
Traveler, you now have all the tools you need to embark on the Photonic Trail and be successful on your mission!
Ready to Play?
Click on the book below to start your journey in Parihaven!
Were you already on your way in the enchanting world of the Photonic Trail? Welcome back!
Resume your journey by selecting the mission you were in and using the secret passcode you were given then!
Please, notice that at the moment we are not saving your progress in storage, so we suggest to store your passcode (in a safe place!) to be able to easily resume your journey.
Credits:
QPlayLearn (Physics, Production & Design)
Sibel Kantola (Art & World Building)
Radha Pyari Sandhir (Concept, Stories & World Building, Physics)
Daria Anttila (Physics)
Francesca Sansavini [Quantum Optics Real Lab]
Quantum Flytrap team: Piotr Migdał, Klem Jankiewicz, Paweł Grabarz [Virtual Lab]
Ringbearer font by Pete Klassen
Audiobook narrator: Jon Richards
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