Does Quantum Entanglement Violate Causality?

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    Causality Entaglement
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the implications of quantum entanglement on causality, particularly whether it can be used to send signals and if that would violate causal principles. Participants explore theoretical and conceptual aspects of quantum mechanics related to entanglement.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions whether quantum entanglement can be used to send signals, suggesting it might violate causality.
  • Another participant asserts that current theories and observations indicate entanglement cannot be used for signaling.
  • A different viewpoint suggests that if one atom's quantum state is controlled, it could potentially be used to send information.
  • Participants discuss the randomness of quantum measurements, noting that outcomes appear random until compared with another measurement, which does not convey information on its own.
  • There is a suggestion that technological limitations might prevent the control of quantum states necessary for signaling.
  • One participant emphasizes that the measurement of entangled particles does not allow the sender to control the information received by the other party.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on whether quantum entanglement can be used to send signals and the implications for causality. There is no consensus on the ability to control quantum states for communication purposes.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight the indeterminate nature of entangled particles until measured, and the need for classical communication to establish correlations, which may imply limitations in using entanglement for signaling.

IvanTheTerrible
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Hi everyone, I'm new here and i have to say this place is awesome! I will definatly be poking around here :biggrin:

something that has bugged me ever since i thought about it. Does quantum entanglment (when used to send a signal) violate causality?
 
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Not according to any data yet received. The crux of the matter is your parenthetical statement "(when used to send a signal)". According to all current theories and observations, it can't be used to send a signal.
 
it can't? if one atom is entangled with another and the quantum state is used as an on/off indicator isn't that 1 bit of information?
 
Think about it some more. The outcome of the quantum measurement will be a purely random number. It's not until you compare this random number to another random number that you notice there is a correlation. Measuring the random state of a particle doesn't send any information, any more than tossing a coin and noticing that it comes up heads (50% of the time) or tails (the other 50%) does. To send some information, you need to control what the receiver reciieves. But the receiver receives an apparently random number. It's not until you compare notes, by sending classical information about the state you measured, that anything at all weird happens.
 
but wouldn't that make the problem of sending information a technological restraint? If you could control the quantum state of one atom you could then use it to send information. So I'm assuming controlling the quantum state of an atom is impossible?
 
IvanTheTerrible said:
but wouldn't that make the problem of sending information a technological restraint? If you could control the quantum state of one atom you could then use it to send information. So I'm assuming controlling the quantum state of an atom is impossible?

No, Think of it this way. The state of any two entangled particles are indeterminate until one or the other is measured. Once this measurement is made both particles take on opposite states. In order for the "receiver" to know whether a "message" has been sent he must measure the state of the the particle. At this point he has no way of knowing of whether he is measuring a state caused by measurement at the "transmitting" end or whether he himself, in making the measurement, initiated the process.
 
*smacks forehead*
doh! i should have thought of that
 

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