Physics games have become an important part of the gaming landscape. These are games that require players to exploit the laws of physics to win. One example is Laser Puzzle in which players arrange mirrors to redirect a laser beam onto a number of targets. Another is the Art of Gravity where players destroy brick-built constructs to observe the fascinating patterns of falling blocks.
Nevertheless, physicists have found various coding shortcuts to make these kinds of simulations more efficient. What’s needed is a way to turn them into a game worth playing. The lab can simulate experiments involving up to three photons, which requires considerable coding nous. They say the behavior of a single photon can be described by 1000 complex numbers to capture its position in 2d space, its polarization and direction. By contrast, “a three-photon simulation requires a billion dimensions,” say the team.