Once we are able to apply the principle of quantum entanglement, we can unleash the true power of quantum technology.
We are in the dawn of the quantum technology era. Lightning-fast quantum computers are set to revolutionise how we solve complex mathematical and modelling problems, helping us with big challenges from the climate crisis to the future of healthcare.
The underlying physics behind these technologies is quantum entanglement. This strange concept describes how entangled particles share a correlation to each other, maintained no matter how far apart they are in the Universe. If we know what the correlation pattern is – for example, for an entangled pair it could be black and white, or up and down – measuring one lets us know what state the other is in, without us having to check.
Already mind-boggling? Well, here comes the even weirder part. Under the realm of quantum mechanics, the state of a particle is only determined once it is measured or observed. Before this happens, the particle exists as a superposition of all the possible states it can be in.
So, for entangled pairs, how can they be correlated if they cannot be in pre-determined states at the point of creation? Do they send signals to each other across vast distances at the point of measurement? No, light can only travel at the speed of light and not instantaneously between distances. Do they carry secret, hidden instructions about what state to be in once measured?
The answer to this last question is also no. And the evidence for this was provided by genius experiments designed by John Clauser, Alain Aspect and Anton Zeilinger. Together, they have been awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics for their pioneering work exploring the strange-but-true phenomenon of quantum entanglement – or “spooky action at a distance”, as Albert Einstein described it.
This work is important, because once we are able to understand and apply the principle of quantum entanglement in a practical way, we unleash the power of quantum technology to transform our world, turning the dream of a quantum revolution into a reality.
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