Practical
Use For Entangled Photons
The "spooky"
phenomenon, as Einstein called it, of entangled particles
will someday have such practical uses that no one will be
able to recall how we lived without them. But of course this
is years from being reality unless we have a major
breakthrough in our understanding of quantum mechanics.
What
is it?
A pair of subatomic particles can become entangled,
meaning that the state of one particle is instantly mirrored
in the second particle no matter how far apart they are. And
by instantly I mean faster than the speed of light, actually
7 million times faster than the speed of light.
How
does it work?
No one knows, in fact hardly anyone has a clue. But
the great thing is that for these applications it doesn't
matter how it works, just that it does.
OK we will start with the
obvious and the most likely use... interstellar
communications or at first interplanetary communications.
Imagine real-time video from Jupiter. Not to mention control
of the spacecraft.
Now back on earth...
walkie-talkies that can span the globe. And talk about a
secure line, there would be no way intercept or jam the
communications.
by Tim Pruett
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