astronomy

Ping Koy Lam

Ping Koy Lam is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Ping Koy Lam rather than just read about it. In short: Ping Koy Lam is an Australian scientist and Professor of Physics at the Australian National University in Canberra. He is currently an Australian Research Council Australian Laureate Fellow and a work package director and program manager in the ARC Centre for Quantum Computer and Communication Technology.

Key takeaways

Ping Koy Lam belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Ping Koy Lam to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Ping Koy Lam from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Ping Koy Lam is an Australian scientist and Professor of Physics at the Australian National University in Canberra. He is currently an Australian Research Council Australian Laureate Fellow and a work package director and program manager in the ARC Centre for Quantum Computer and Communication Technology. For his PhD thesis in 1999 he was awarded the Australian Institute of Physics Bragg Medal. He was awarded the 2003 British Council Eureka Prize for inspiring science (quantum teleportation) and the 2006 UNSW Eureka Prize for innovative research (quantum cryptography). He researches quantum optics, optical metrology, nonlinear optics and quantum information. His highly cited research includes pioneering work in quantum memory, and optical quantum information processing. In May 2020 he was elected fellow of the Australian Academy of Science.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ping Koy Lam

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ping Koy Lam claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Ping Koy Lam before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Ping Koy Lam ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Ping Koy Lam

In research: Ping Koy Lam appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Ping Koy Lam in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Ping Koy Lam is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Academic staff of the Australian National University, Australian National University alumni, Australian academic biography stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ping Koy Lam outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Ping Koy Lam in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Ping Koy Lam means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Ping Koy Lam out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ping Koy Lam in simple terms?

Why does Ping Koy Lam matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Ping Koy Lam?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Ping Koy Lam.