Often you will hear religious nutters try to give their weird beliefs a veneer of credibility by using scientific terminology. This is perhaps best exemplified by the use of the word ‘quantum’ in the description of their beliefs. Perhaps the funniest of these is the phrase ‘quantum theology’ which is said to meld religion with physics, which the religious often call ‘the new physics’1, seemingly unaware that quantum physics was developed over a century ago. I did physics in high school and one year of it at university and while I found it fascinating, I think I made the right choice in sticking with palaeontology!
The reason I started this essay was because I saw an article, again from Wes O’Donnell, on Substack, referring to the development of a quantum battery in Australia2. My initial reaction was complete lack of understanding and a barely articulated ‘what?’ So, as is my wont, I looked it up online and sure enough, Australian scientists from CSIRO, RMIT University, and the University of Melbourne developed the world’s first proof-of-concept quantum battery in March 2026.
Researchers say the technology could transform how we store and use energy in the future, paving the way for super-fast charging of devices. University of Melbourne’s Associate Professor Hutchison said “Similar to conventional batteries, quantum batteries charge, store and discharge energy. But while everyday batteries rely on chemical reactions, quantum batteries leverage properties of quantum mechanics. … The advantage is that the system absorbs light in a single, giant ‘super absorption’ event and this charges the battery faster”3.
CSIRO’s Dr James Quach led the team that engineered the prototype battery and said: “The research and proof-of-concept validates the exciting potential of quantum batteries to achieve rapid, scalable charging and energy storage at room temperature, laying the groundwork for next-generation energy solutions. … Our findings confirm a fundamental quantum effect that’s completely counterintuitive: quantum batteries charge faster as they get larger”. He continued: “While there’s still much work to be done in quantum battery research, we’ve made an important move towards realising the possibilities. The next step right now for quantum batteries is extending their energy storage time”3.
James Quach also said: “The capacity of quantum batteries is still tiny (a few billion electron-volts), and the time they hold their charge is fleetingly short (a few nanoseconds). This means quantum batteries are too small to power [anything], at least for now”. The team are currently working on ways to scale up the prototype’s size and extend how long it can hold its charge. They hope to create a hybrid design that combines the exceptional charging speed of the quantum battery with the long storage time of the classical battery4.
These developments amaze me, and sometimes make my brain hurt in trying to get my head around such things.
Sources
- https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Quantum_Theology.html
- https://substack.com/@wesodonnell/note/c-256884857
- https://www.unimelb.edu.au/newsroom/news/2026/march/first-quantum-battery-developed-and-tested-by-australian-researchers
- https://www.csiro.au/en/news/All/Articles/2026/March/A-world-first-quantum-battery
Boggles the mind. Thanks.