Helping Hands
CAUTION: Do Not Put Hand Into or Under Quantum Machinery.
“You’d think it didn’t need to be said. QLabs specifically requires people to use their brains to do their jobs, and it doesn't take a genius to consider basic lab safety. Unfortunately, if the rule exists, it's probably because it happened before. Maybe it's ignorance, bad luck, or maybe people just aren't paid enough to care.
For the record, I'm unpaid and happy to keep my limbs where they are.”
“Cora Valderas from the United States of America combined her love for crime thrillers and horror stories with quantum physics to write ‘Helping Hands’, drawing inspiration from disasters throughout history involving sensitive equipment. She receives USD 1500 for winning First Prize. This is on top of the shortlist prize and one-year Scientific American digital subscription awarded to all finalists. Physicist and author Chad Orzel called the story ‘a cool and creepy set-up’. ‘This also probably has the best voice of the lot, and some quality jokes about life in academia,’ he said.”