Henry Legg
@henrylegg.bsky.social
Lecturer (~asst prof) investigating quantum physics @univofstandrews. My opinions belong to 28 highly trained monkeys and are not those of my employer. Webpage: https://legg.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/
Congratulations to all St Andrews physics graduates from yesterday. Especially my MPhys project students Bethany and Grace, it was a pleasure doing research with you!
Peppa Pig taught American children words like "petrol". Microsoft’s quantum division has now stepped in to teach American adults words like "codswallop". I am incredibly grateful that a multi-trillion-dollar tech firm’s quantum division is performing the same function as a cartoon pig.
Sophia Chen@sophurky.bsky.social · last mo.Following Trump's executive orders, Microsoft news, and announcements of $billions in investment, I wrote about the current state of quantum computing and what we can expect. bit.ly/4v3kedO
"In an interview, Legg compared the effort to finding an image of Jesus in toast by looking through an entire bakery's worth of loaves." I am today launching a quantum start up based on finding Jesus in your toast. We will deliver quantum toast supercomputer by 2028 www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
Microsoft's quantum computing technology called into question, again
A new critique in the scientific journal Nature is raising fresh questions about Microsoft's claimed quantum computing breakthrough last year, which underpinned the company's announcement this month ...
reuters.com
Critique published by Nature challenges Microsoft’s quantum computing claims, highlighting how rigorous scientific analysis can challenge even the largest technology corporations Henry Legg Read more.... 👇 https://ow.ly/pa9V50ZgjF5
My critique exposing flawed tune-up procedures, code errors, and omitted data behind Microsoft's "breakthrough" quantum computing claims is published today in Nature In short: Microsoft haven't demonstrated the basic physics needed for even a single topological qubit www.nature.com/articles/s41...
On the robustness of topological gap detection via transport - Nature
Nature - On the robustness of topological gap detection via transport
nature.com
In the very sunny Scottish highlands with the St Andrews condensed matter groups for a fun 3 days of scientific talks (and a bit of fun) Photo courtesy of @wahlgroup.bsky.social
In slightly cheesy personal news: I got married to my favourite person in my favourite place. … yes, we had a wedding cake of cheese.
Quantum industry: We can solve climate change! Also quantum industry: But first we need to get some helium-3 from the moon! "The next quantum revolution may require a helium ‘gold rush’ on the moon" archive.ph/0P5ML
Earth’s next quantum revolution might depend on strip-mining the moon
The rare isotope helium-3 is one of Earth’s most precious commodities—so precious, in fact, that it might prove profitable to mine from the moon
scientificamerican.com
It's good to see that even the mainstream media are being much more cautious about Microsoft Quantum's latest claims. Although, that said, a "practical quantum computer" by 2029 when you haven't even proven that you have Majoranas or a qubit is not the hardest thing to see through.
St Andrews School of Physics and Astronomy@physastrostand.bsky.social · 2mo agoDr Henry Legg was on the Radio 4 Today programme this morning to talk about problems with Microsoft Quantum’s latest claims. You can listen to it here: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/..., at point 1:20:55.
Today Microsoft announce "Majorana 2", claiming they will build a “practical” quantum computer by 2029. This is of course massive PR bullshit. I could also speculate about the timing of this announcement, but unfortunately that will have to wait. For now, let's look at their preprint. 🧵 1/x
Wow, incredibly surreal, amazing experience for my orchestral piece "Exoplanets" to be augmented with lighting during performance by Sinfonieorchester Basel, not to mention expert narrations delivered by the festival resident scientist @henrylegg.bsky.social. Looking forward to sharing video soon!!
When I started studying physics I never thought I'd be involved in pushing "the boundaries of contemporary music" as the "soloist" (narrator) with an orchestra. An amazing couple of evenings with the Basel symphony orchestra and a great team of over 100 people. www.bazonline.ch/interfinity-...
Klassik-Highlight: So könnte der Kosmos klingen
Interfinity brachte am Donnerstag ein Stück über Exoplaneten in die Messehalle. Wie beim Festival fast schon erwartbar: Der Abend dehnte die Grenzen zeitgenössischer Musik aus.
bazonline.ch
An amazing evening yesterday narrating a composition by Rob Laidlow ( @robertlaidlow.bsky.social ) about exoplanets as part of the Interfinity festival in Basel.
Legg group dinner photo 2026: 1. Jesus Christ who is that old man in the back?! 2. Grateful to work with all these fantastic young minds doing some really exciting physics.
Am I the only one that vehemently detests the phrase "curiosity driven research"? It conjures this image of a toddler asking "why, why, why?" Wouldn't "foundational science" be better? More difficult for governments to say "we're cutting foundational science". www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Don’t deprioritize curiosity-driven research
Around the world, governments are demanding that research funding follow broader political priorities. They should be careful what they wish for.
nature.com
Proof that having a PhD is not a sign of true intelligence: Guess which moron waited until February to buy a bike and started cycling to work in the driving Scottish wind and rain?
Fun fact I learnt preparing my condensed matter lectures for this semester: Arnold Sommerfeld was nominated 84 times for the Nobel prize in physics, but never won. Interestingly, despite his lifelong Nobel prize disappointment, Sommerfeld never threatened to invade Greenland (as far as I know).
I am making the supreme sacrifice in the name of solidarity. For as long as Trump is threatening Greenland I will boycott American bread and chocolate.
The rarest of sights - a big glossy journal publishing negative replications! Yes, we had to bundle 4 replications into one article AND we had to wait 2 (!!) years in peer review, but here we are: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Data sharing helps avoid “smoking gun” claims of topological milestones
Manipulating the topology of electronic bands can realize new states of matter, with possible implications for information technology. A central question is how to tell whether a topological regime ha...
science.org
Thank you for all your private messages to me about Balrog wings. Unfortunately, in 2025, wingers like @dangaristo.bsky.social still exist and think Balrogs were just glorified penguins. In this era of fake news we must defend important facts: Balrogs do not have wings.
Henry Legg@henrylegg.bsky.social · 9mo ago@dangaristo.bsky.social this is how Balrog wingers imagine Durin's bane. You think a glorified penguin is going to go toe-to-toe with Gandalf? Come off it.
Now this is classic Usenet beef. We're talking 30-year-aged stuff here. Simpler times. Better times.
Henry Legg@henrylegg.bsky.social · 9mo agoI was just sent a video of a child in a Balrog halloween costume. Appallingly, the Balrog costume had wings. **Balrogs do not have wings** Why are we teaching children incorrect anatomy of mythical creatures? Are you going to also throw a pair of wings on a giraffe? My day is already ruined.
I was just sent a video of a child in a Balrog halloween costume. Appallingly, the Balrog costume had wings. **Balrogs do not have wings** Why are we teaching children incorrect anatomy of mythical creatures? Are you going to also throw a pair of wings on a giraffe? My day is already ruined.
Let's be very clear: Google’s claims are debatable, Microsoft’s are a work of fiction. Be sceptical of Google like the bloke down the pub claiming he lives in a mansion. Be sceptical of Microsoft like the bloke claiming he lives in a castle in the sky powered by topoconductors and fairy dust.
Dulwich Quantum Computing@dulwichquantum.bsky.social · 10mo agoMicrosoft vs Google - who will succeed to make researchers more sceptical? www.nature.com/articles/d41... www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE
nyti.ms
The correct decision from the Nobel committee. If they had even muttered the words "quantum computing" the number of start-up founders posting about their quantum crypto coin NFTs would break LinkedIn.
Dan Garisto@dangaristo.bsky.social · 10mo agoInteresting bit of sociology: They are really studiously avoiding any mention of quantum computing. First and only mention came in the last few words of the presentation by Johansson.
Our Nobel Prize predictions for the next week. #Nobel2025
Bit grim seeing the FT treat HSBC’s quantum computing theatre as actual news. Why worry about fake news when the establishment press has already been lobotomised by corporate press releases? I wish HSBC (my mortgage provider) were as flexible with my interest rate as they are with reality…
Financial Times@financialtimes.com · 10mo agoHSBC claims quantum trading breakthrough on.ft.com/4mDbeYG
Bullshit www.hsbc.com/news-and-vie...
HSBC demonstrates world’s first-known quantum-enabled algorithmic trading with IBM | HSBC News
HSBC announces the world’s first-known empirical evidence of the potential value of quantum computers for solving real-world problems in algorithmic bond trading.
hsbc.com