Uploaded January 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Throughout history, there’s been something remarkably powerful about the color purple.
Its appeal has manifested across the arts and popular culture — including in Alice Walker’s same-named Pulitzer Prize-winning 1982 novel adapted into an Oscar-nominated 1985 film, a Tony-winning 2005 Broadway musical and now a 2023 movie musical that opens on Christmas Day.
To learn more about the science behind a color so special that non-royal ancient Romans wearing it could be put to death, we checked in with Yongjia He, a doctoral candidate in the UCLA Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry who studies quantum state manipulation and spectroscopy, for the latest episode of the UCLA College video series, “Silly Questions, Smart Bruins.”
He, a leader of the Quantum Computing Student Association at UCLA, imagines how to create a scientifically accurate “mood ring” for Mother Nature, how quantum science has probably changed your life already and what to do if confronted with a one-eyed, one-horned, flying, purple people eater.
Watch the previous installments of “Silly Questions, Smart Bruins.”: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZLgIqm-v5xNe3pBQUoUNm22bkp3EsTfo&si=WZorwy1u1Fdt5WGF
Credits:
“SQSB Theme” music by What’s Everyone Working On?
Music Publishing
Music by: bensound.com
License code: MJF5VTFT7RPPEQCR
Throughout history, there’s been something remarkably powerful about the color purple.
Its appeal has manifested across the arts and popular culture — including in Alice Walker’s same-named Pulitzer Prize-winning 1982 novel adapted into an Oscar-nominated 1985 film, a Tony-winning 2005 Broadway musical and now a 2023 movie musical that opens on Christmas Day.
To learn more about the science behind a color so special that non-royal ancient Romans wearing it could be put to death, we checked in with Yongjia He, a doctoral candidate in the UCLA Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry who studies quantum state manipulation and spectroscopy, for the latest episode of the UCLA College video series, “Silly Questions, Smart Bruins.”
He, a leader of the Quantum Computing Student Association at UCLA, imagines how to create a scientifically accurate “mood ring” for Mother Nature, how quantum science has probably changed your life already and what to do if confronted with a one-eyed, one-horned, flying, purple people eater.
Watch the previous installments of “Silly Questions, Smart Bruins.”: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZLgIqm-v5xNe3pBQUoUNm22bkp3EsTfo&si=WZorwy1u1Fdt5WGF
Credits:
“SQSB Theme” music by What’s Everyone Working On?
Music Publishing
Music by: bensound.com
License code: MJF5VTFT7RPPEQCR
![Tell Us What You Know: Minds in Motion | A UCLA College State of Mind story [updated]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xd3FU7hwViI/mqdefault.jpg "Tell Us What You Know: Minds in Motion | A UCLA College State of Mind story [updated]
The brain: our most mysterious and magnificent organ. 🧠
In the latest episode of the UCLA College podcast Tell Us What You Know, three passionate Bruin researchers — Jennifer Noji, Adriana Galván and Pablo Alvarez — dive into what fascinates them most about the brain and how it helps us understand ourselves, our world and our place in the cosmos. 🌌
🎧 Tune in, and don’t miss the accompanying Q&A for even more insights into this crown jewel of human biology. [link to Newsroom story]
#UCLACollege #StateOfMind #TellUsWhatYouKnow #Podcast")
