What are locality and nonlocality?

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SUMMARY

Locality refers to the principle in physics that interactions require direct contact between objects, exemplified by a billiard ball striking another. Historically, locality was the predominant view until the 1900s. Non-locality, in contrast, posits that entities can influence one another without direct interaction, as demonstrated by quantum entanglement, where a change in one entangled photon instantaneously affects another, regardless of distance. This distinction is crucial for understanding modern physics concepts.

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Locality and non locality?

Hi...
What means locality and nonlocality ??
 
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Locality is the idea in physics that things have to directly interact with other things in order to change them, e.g. a billiard ball striking another billiard ball. Until the 1900's, locality was the only line of thought. Even the "forces at a distance" like gravity adhere to locality because a gravitron, or gravity wave, or however you'd like to think of it, leaves mass A (a local interaction) and hits mass B (a local interaction) causing it to accelerate.

Non-locality is the idea that things don't have to directly interact in order to affect each other. For example, if a photon becomes "entangled" with another, interacting with that photon will cause a change in the other, instantly, no matter where in the universe it is. For more information, google "quantum entanglement".
 


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