In a series of scientific discoveries that also proved Albert Einstein wrong, we look at the prediction of the entanglement of particles. From famed Physicists such as John Bell to Einstein, there have been several findings on particle entanglement. Let’s look at this fascinating topic.
The discovery of particles or quantum entanglement
A variety of publications have documented findings on this topic and there is no doubt this is an interesting topic. Space.com says quantum entanglement is a counterintuitive phenomenon where two subatomic particles remain deeply connected.
Even if separated by billions of light-years one change in one particle instantly influences the other, regardless of the distance between them. The publication refers to physicist John Bell’s study that suggested that such changes can be induced and occur instantaneously, even if the particles are very far apart.
Referred to as Bell’s Theorem, this groundbreaking idea challenged established physics principles. Years before, Albert Einstein conducted a demonstration that no information could travel faster than the speed of light. Troubled by this contradiction, Einstein memorably referred to entanglement as “spooky action at a distance.”
What is quantum entanglement or particle connections?
According to Alan Migdall per space.com, the fellow at the Joint Quantum Institute at the University of Maryland and Leader of the Quantum Optics Group at the National Institute of Standards and Technology – he says: “it is when a system is in a “superposition” of more than one state. But what do those words mean?”
“The usual example would be a flipped coin. You flip a coin but don’t look at the result. You know it is either heads or tails.”
In his words, Midgall explained that “as a simple example of entanglement (superposition of two separate places), it could be a photon encountering a 50-50 splitter. After the splitter, the photon could be In path A, or it could be in path B.”
Is quantum entanglement faster than the speed of light?
The scholar argues that asking about speed is a very interesting question. “You might as a normal human being think that if I measure the polarization of one photon, that sets the state of the other photon,” he stated.
“That thinking is fine, as long as the other photon measurement happens after the first measurement. But there is already a problem. If that second photon is measured on Pluto, it might take 6 hours for light to get there, so because information cannot travel faster than the speed of light, the second photon wouldn’t know what state it should be.”
However, he says it turns out that that second measurement will always match the first no matter when it was measured.
In simple terms, he added that it seems like the necessary information must have traveled faster than the speed of light. “Big problem, but entanglement’s weirdness gets it out of an astronomical speeding ticket.”
How does quantum entanglement work?
In explaining this term, Midgall stated that an example of quantum entanglement that he works with involves a light source that emits two photons at a time.
“Those two photons of a pair can be entangled so that the polarizations of the individual photons can be any orientation (i.e., random), but photons of a pair always have matching polarizations,” he explained.
“Touching on polarization, he said polarization of light depends on the electric field of the light wave. As the light travels from point one point to another, its electric field will oscillate transversely to that propagation direction. It might oscillate in the vertical plane, in the horizontal plane or any direction in between.”
Because Einstein differed with new generations of physicists who advocated and was wrong in the end, it remains to be seen if there will be another discovery or explanation on this fascinating topic.