Quartet of Nobel laureates sign Helgoland’s ‘gold book’

The first session at the Helgoland 2025 meeting marking the centenary of quantum mechanics began with the four Nobel-prize-winning physicsts in attendance being invited on stage to sign the island’s memorial “gold book” and add a short statement to it.

Anton Zeilinger and Alain Aspect, who shared the 2022 Nobel prize with John Clauser for their work on entanglement and quantum information science, were first up on stage. They were followed by Serge Haroche and David Wineland, who shared the 2012 prize for their work on measuring and manipulating quantum systems.

During the coffee break, the book was placed on display for participants to view and add their own signatures if they wished. Naturally, being the nosey person I am, I was keen to see what the Nobel laureates had written.

Here, for the record, are their comments.

“Great sailing. Great people.” Anton Zeilinger

“C’est une émotion de se trouver à l’endroit où a commencé la méchanique quantique.” Alain Aspect [It’s an emotional feeling to find yourself in the place where quantum mechanics started.]

“Thank you for your warm welcome in Helgoland, an island which is known by all quantum physicists.” Serge Haroche

“An honor to be here.” David Wineland

All the comments made sense to me apart from that of Zeilinger so after the evening’s panel debate on the foundations of quantum mechanics, in which he had taken part, I asked him what the reference to sailing was all about.

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Turns out that Zeilinger (as Albert Einstein once was) is a keen sailor in his spare time and he and his wife had come to Helgoland three days before the conference began to see the final stages of a North Sea regatta that takes place in late spring every year.

In fact, Zeilinger explained that the Helgoland meeting had to start on a Tuesday as the day before the venue was host to the regatta’s awards ceremony.

As for the flag, it is that of Helgoland, with the green representing the land, the red for the island’s cliffs and the white for the sand on the beaches.