Spooky Action

FingerDemon · Posted: Thu Aug 26, 2004 2:52 pm Post subject:

I always thought that the first practical application of quantum entanglement like this would be communications, since the change in both particles seems instantaneous. So, you could have two sets of these things with one part on the ground and one in a satellite and there would be no transmission delay. With the entire planet capable of being covered by 3 or 4 satellites you wouldn't need that many sets of quantum entangled transmitters/receivers for full global coverage.

So, first phone and military and weather stuff, but eventually.... Lag free satellite online gaming, Baby!

Of course, with this kind of head melting high brow stuff, I might have misunderstood something.

But yeah, this is cool stuff either way.

Stevo · Posted: Thu Aug 26, 2004 3:22 pm Post subject:

Actually you probably wouldn't need satellites at that point. Satellites are there because radio waves and stuff need to "see" their destination so to go though the Earth to the other side, they need to go around it through satellites. With quantum entaglement or whatever it's called, they communicate no matter where the two ends are, right? So there's no need to "see" the destination.
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FingerDemon · Posted: Fri Aug 27, 2004 7:41 am Post subject:

Doh! You're right on, Stevo. I didn't think of that. I guess I was thinking too "inside the box". (Man that stupid box, is more trouble than it's worth.) But in terms of teleportation it seems less useful the more I think about it as a means of transportation. I mean wouldn't they have to create two of you in a supercollider and then send one of you somewhere else?

But the communications thing, that's big if it really is instantaneous. It's faster than light communications. I wonder if whatever mechanism that makes it happen could still work when each entangled particle is on the opposite side of a black hole? I guess that would prove that no energy or particles are moving from one to the other. I think the current theory is that it would still work, but it's a brain melter all right. If I keep trying to think at this high level, I'll have to watch some mindless daytime TV later to balance out my brain.

FD