Is there any practical proof that quantum entanglement really works?

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the practical implications and understanding of quantum entanglement, specifically addressing the instantaneous effect of measurement on entangled particles. Participants clarify that while entangled particles exhibit correlated measurement outcomes, no information can be transmitted faster than light due to the nature of quantum mechanics. The conversation emphasizes that measurement outcomes are random and that entanglement is disrupted upon measurement, preventing any form of faster-than-light communication. Resources such as the Nobel Foundation's materials and introductory quantum mechanics notes are recommended for further understanding.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of quantum mechanics principles
  • Familiarity with quantum entanglement concepts
  • Knowledge of measurement theory in quantum physics
  • Basic grasp of relativistic effects on measurements
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the Nobel Prize materials on quantum physics, particularly the 2022 summary
  • Read "Totally Random" by Persi Diaconis for insights on randomness in quantum mechanics
  • Explore the undergraduate-level quantum mechanics notes available at Macquarie University
  • Investigate the implications of contextuality theorems in quantum measurement
USEFUL FOR

Physicists, students of quantum mechanics, and anyone interested in the foundational principles of quantum entanglement and its implications for communication and measurement.

  • #31
leonid.ge said:
Suppose there is a new law: if measuring spin +1, then Biden will be president, otherwise Trump... you instantly know that Biden won. So you got information about who became president faster than speed of light.
Supposed there is a new law passed that on election day a box is opened. If it contains a left shoe, Biden is elected and if it contains a right shoe, Trump is elected. The mating shoe is placed in another box and sent far away. When it is opened, the people who opened it instantly know the results of the selection faster than the speed of light.

This should make it clear that what you wrote has nothing whatever to do with quantum mechanics.
 
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  • #32
Doh-dee-ohh-doh...

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  • #33
leonid.ge said:
Is there an experiment confirming that correlations work on really large distances such as from here to other stars?
The best experiments so far have been done across thousands of kilometers.

It’s hard to see how we could do such an experiment at interstellar distances, both because of the practical difficulties in setting up two detectors light-years apart and because we would need at least one of the particles to traverse that enormous distance without blundering into something (stray grain of dust, random molecule floating around, cosmic ray particle, ….) which would break the entanglement.

However, nothing in our current physics says that quantum mechanics wouldn’t work as expected if we could overcome these practical difficulties in an experiment. We might imagine theories that aren’t quantum mechanics and agree with QM at planetary scale but predict different results at interstellar scale - but with neither a candidate theory nor experimental evidence suggesting that QM is wrong this is a completely sterile exercise.
 
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