What on Earth is a Qhord?

Short answer: a quantum chord...as in musical chord. Our team is working to develop an interactive app for making quantum physics more accessible to a wide audience that might not have formal mathematical training. Why?

• We are passionate about education.
• We believe that modern science should be more accessible to the public.
• Doesn't quantum music just sound really cool?
• And last, why not?

We're able to do this because quantum physics and music share a lot of similar concepts (like waves, for example). Our team was founded on a singular principle: playful curiosity. STE(A)M education works best when it inspires students to look at the world with playful curiosity.

It Takes 3 Years of Math in College to Start Learning Quantum Physics... traditionally

In a typical 4-year university, there are an abundance of mathematical prerequisites required before learning quantum physics, such as probability theory, linear algebra, and multivariable calculus. We haven't even mentioned the physics requirements yet! 

What this means is that a subject like quantum physics isn't readily accessible to many people who are interested in the subject, which we think is just wrong! We think that quantum physics is fun, useful, mind blowing, and most of all, inspiring; for these reasons and more, it is integral for the subject to become more familiar throughout the public.

To this end, Qhord's mission is to promote playful curiosity about science and to advocate for the adoption of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) education in the American education system and globally. And we plan to do that very...non-traditionally. You can read more about exactly how we plan to do this on our website: www.qhord.com

What You Get & What We Need

We're doing this crowdfunding campaign for a few reasons.

• We want to share the cool work we are doing with you! Whether through beta access or through a customized Quantum composition in your name: Qhord is for everyone.
• Making good software takes a lot of manpower. We have the best and the brightest working on Qhord, and to really go places we need to be able to sustain ourselves.
• Qhord is about community--we want researchers to connect with consumers. Educators with creators. Everyone should feel an equal sense of participation in this framework.

The result of Qhord? At the end of the day, we want to build a set of tools (a Software Development Kit) that lets educators create their own demos, activities, and lessons using the Qhord framework.

UPDATE: Contributors are now going to be entered in a raffle to win a $100 gift card to Amazon at the end of our campaign! $5 contribution gets you 1 entry, $25 gets 3 entries, $50 gets 7 entries, and $100 gets 12 entries...all on top of the perks already listed!

The Impact

Quantum physics is changing the world right now. A lot of people have heard the word "quantum", but many fewer people know

• Quantum computing (a subset of quantum physics) is extremely close to drastically changing pharmaceuticals, materials science and agriculture 
• Quantum physics is an extremely well-confirmed science that is used every day by physicists, chemists, and even some computer scientists
• There is no particular reason quantum physics has to be hard to understand

We address each of these issues with Qhord by fostering what we call "quantum literacy". By interacting (i.e.: playing, literally!) with the physics, we believe anyone can start to intuit the awesome features of quantum physics.

Risks & Challenges

Now, I'm not going to lie--what we've set out to do is a monumental task. We need to reverse the public perception that quantum physics is "mystical" or "magical". We need to show people that quantum physics is perfectly understandable even without mathematical knowledge.

• Doing this requires a lot of educators and physicists coming together and engaging with the program.
• We are exploring a very new area in education in an unconventional way--setbacks should be expected, but our team is about as tenacious as we are stubborn!

Other Ways You Can Help

If you aren't able to contribute for one of our perks, you can still help out:

• Let us know if you are interested in contributing to our software development, educational content, or otherwise take part in the Qhord team!
• Spread the word to friends, family, and educators--anyone you know who might be interested in doing quantum music!

Let's play Physics!