New Research on Quantum Entanglement

The idea of faster-than-light—even instantaneous—communication has been around for a long time. Pretty much ever since the concept of quantum entanglement was proposed. Albert Einstein, notably, did not believe in such behavior, as his Theory of Relativity showed that faster-than-light travel and even communication were impossible. He mocked quantum entanglement, famously calling it "spooky action at a distance."

Nevertheless, recent studies have confirmed the presence of this "spooky action" and now, for the first time, placed a limit on how quickly it happens. The experiment, conducted in Switzerland, confirmed that the entangled particles had exactly the same properties at the same time, even though they were 11 miles apart. In doing so, the research determined that the minimum speed at which the quantum information could be passing between the two particles was at least 10,000 times the speed of light.

There are several possible explanations, but a great deal of new work would need to be done before we really know what's going on. It's possible that some exotic particle that travels faster than the speed of light (a tachyon) could be emitted by one of the particles and absorbed by the other. Indeed, the theory of tachyons shows that a tachyon with no mass would have an infinite velocity, which in a way means that it would exist completely outside of time, capable of traveling to any (and every) point in the universe instantaneously, and would never exist in time (which is why we have never detected them directly).

It is also possible that nothing is traveling that fast at all, but rather that the act of observing the particles causes their wave functions to collapse, and because the particles are entangled they share the same wave function. If the collapse of the wave function happens instantaneously, then it would happen for both particles at the same time.

In any event, researchers are still quite a ways away from being able to give us a reliable ansible.

Researchers Produce Quantum-Entangled Images

Researchers at the NIST and University of Maryland have conducted an experiment into quantum entanglement using a new simple, versatile, and efficient method of producing quantum images. The researchers separated a single image into two light beams that were entangled by emissions from rubidium gas, the second image rotated 180° and at a slightly different color.

The researchers then experimented with alterations and fluctuations to the properties—such as phase and intensity—of one beam and noted similar changes in the other beam, allowing the team to predict changes in pixels of one image by observing the other image.

This could be a step on the road to production of a working ansible.

Sufficiently Advanced Wireless

Arthur C. Clarke once said "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" (also known as Clarke's Third Law). That's obviously where the name of this blog comes from. A lot of technology in the modern era would pass as magic to someone from even several decades ago, let alone centuries.

Take wireless phones, for instance. The ability to communicate with someone else--to hear their voice, see their pictures and videos, and read their e-mail messages--when you are on opposite sides of the planet would seem truly mystical to people not inured in our modern culture.

With that in mind, thanks to the magic of modern technology, I'm happy to announce the launch of Sufficiently Advanced Wireless, a new wireless phone company. The marvels of modern technology have allowed Creativity Resources to partner with Sonopia and Verizon to offer wireless service to the world at a reasonable rate. All calls travel across Verizon's network, which I have personally found to be the most reliable network around.

Right now, we are offering a Motorola RAZR phone (a $299 value) for only $49.95 with the purchase of a two-year service agreement. In addition, we are offering an exceptional plan for only $39.95/month that includes:

• 450 anytime minutes
• Free nights and weekends
• unlimited domestic long-distance calling (airtime applies)
• No charge for domestic roaming (coverage not available in all areas)
• Voice Mail (airtime charges apply when leaving/retrieving message and for setup)
• Call Forward
• Caller ID
• 3-Way Calling
• Call Waiting (airtime charges apply for each call)
• Includes SMS, MMS and Data services. Web SMS is available at no extra charge when sent to other Sonopians or within the network
• Free 911 calls

Other service plans are available with more minutes, including individual plans and family plans. Check out our plans today!