A team of researchers has achieved a major milestone after they managed to record the first photo of a fascinating phenomenon which is known as quantum entanglement. The phenomenon involves a context were particles will remain connected in a manner which implies that the physical properties of one particle will affect the other, regardless of the distance between them.
The idea has been quite controversial, and Albert Einstein was against it since it was contrary to the classical descriptions of mechanics. The world-famous scientist argued that entanglement and classical physics could co-exist if there were a hidden variable or a missing link which kept them connected.
A major problem stemmed from the fact that for a long while there was no method to test Einstein’s theory or a different one which claimed that particles could interact with the others at a speed which is greater than one of light and they have no objective state before they are observed.
In the 1960s, Sir John Bell elaborated a test which showed that there were no hidden variables, thus increasing the mysteries which surround the quantum world. A group of researchers from the University of Glasgow employed a sophisticated system of lasers and crystals which allowed them to record the first photo of quantum entanglement, a feat which goes against one of Bell’s inequalities.
According to one of the researchers, the milestone is quite important since people have already used entanglement and Bell’s inequalities for a variety of applications, among which we can count cryptography and quantum computing.
To record the image, the researchers began by entailing photons using an efficient strategy. By targeting a crystal with an ultraviolet laser, they were able to observe that some of the photons released by the laser broke into two photons and the pairs were entangled. Further analysis revealed that the pairs violated Bell’s inequalities.
Further research is already underway, and the results of the study were published in a scientific journal.
