Professor thinks small in the realm of teaching physics

Grown-ups might find the weird world of quantum physics hard to understand but Dr Yvette Hancock believes tiny tots will have no trouble with the concepts.

'Children are better equipped to grasp the weird quantum world than most adults,' Dr Hancock said. 'Look at the questions they ask: 'Why is the sky blue?' That's the sort of topic physicists love to explore, which is why we're really children at heart.'

So Dr Hancock, 33, a lecturer in physics at Monash University in Melbourne, decided to write a first-reader for very young children to introduce them to the mysteries of quantum mechanics.

She hopes Ellie the Electron will be the first in a series of picture books like the Little Golden Books - except hers will explore particle physics and wave theory.

Despite the simple language, the first page of Ellie the Electron introduces five and six-year-olds to high-powered quantum physics.

'There is a real need for this type of contribution and the potential outcomes for science and physics would be enormous,' Dr Hancock said. 'Physics is the language of nature's many beautiful and fundamental secrets. It would be a privilege to share this and my love of physics with children.'