Explaining complex science ideas to high school students requires a unique approach, as demonstrated by researchers at the University of California San Diego. They used a dance performance with students from Orange Glen High School in Escondido to illustrate the concept of topological insulators.
Communicating science to the general public can be challenging. Moreover, explaining one area of science to professionals in another can be equally difficult. To convey theoretical science concepts to high school students, researchers often need to adopt a new perspective.
Researchers at UC San Diego creatively tackled this challenge by organizing a dance with high school students at Orange Glen High School to explain the concept of topological insulators.
The initiative, spearheaded by former graduate student Matthew Du in collaboration with UC San Diego Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Joel Yuen-Zhou, was featured in Science Advances.
“The concept itself is quite straightforward,” Yuen-Zhou noted, “but the underlying math is more complicated. We aimed to demonstrate that these intricate ideas in theoretical and experimental physics and chemistry are not as daunting as they might first appear.”
Topological insulators are a novel kind of quantum material characterized by insulating properties internally and conductive properties externally. For instance, if we liken a topological insulator to a burrito, the filling would represent the insulating part, while the tortilla would signify the conductive aspect.
These materials can endure certain imperfections and deformations, making them suitable for use in quantum computing, lasers, and more efficient electronic devices.
To visualize these quantum materials in action, the researchers transformed a space into a dancefloor (representing the topological insulator) using blue and red tape to form a grid. Du then devised a series of movement rules for the dancers.
These movement rules are grounded in Hamiltonian mechanics from quantum theory. In this context, electrons follow guidelines dictated by a Hamiltonian, which represents the total energy within a quantum system, including both kinetic and potential energy. This concept encapsulates how electrons interact with the potential energy of their material surroundings.
Each dancer (representing an electron) carried flags and was assigned a number that determined their movements:
- 1 = wave flags with arms raised
- 0 = remain stationary
- -1 = wave flags with arms lowered
Each dancer’s subsequent actions depended on the movements of nearby dancers and the color of the tape beneath them. They would imitate dancers on blue tape but contradict the actions of those on red tape. Individual errors or dancers exiting the floor did not disrupt the overall performance, mirroring the resilience of topological insulators.
Besides studying topology, Yuen-Zhou’s lab also focuses on chemical processes and light phenomena. They recognized that a group of people’s movements could be compared to wave dynamics, sparking the idea of using dance as a medium to explain complex subjects like topological insulators. Du, who enjoys salsa dancing and currently works as a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Chicago, found this approach both fun and intriguing.
With a background in a family of educators and a passion for scientific outreach, Du expressed that the project helped him appreciate breaking down science into its fundamental concepts.
“Our goal was to present these ideas in a way that was fun and out of the ordinary,” he remarked. “We hope the students realized that science can be both accessible and engaging when linked to real-world experiences.”
Contributors to this study include Matthew Du, Juan B. Pérez-Sánchez, Jorge A. Campos-Gonzalez-Angulo, Arghadip Koner, Federico Mellini, Sindhana Pannir-Sivajothi, Yong Rui Poh, Kai Schwennicke, Kunyang Sun, Stephan van den Wildenberg, Alec Barron, and Joel Yuen-Zhou (all from UC San Diego), alongside Dylan Karzen from Orange Glen High School.
This research received funding from a National Science Foundation CAREER grant (CHE 1654732).
