Mar
7
Does Quantum Entanglement Destroy The Theory of Relativity?
The universe has a speed limit.
At least that’s what Albert Einstein postulated in his Special Theory of Relativity. According to good old Albert, nothing can travel faster than the speed of light — roughly 300,000 kilometers per second. And I know that seems very fast, but on a cosmic scale, it’s really not. In fact, it’s slow enough that we can measure space in terms of light years — which you undoubtedly know is the distance light travels in one year. Imagine moving at 300,000 k/s through space! It seems like you could go very far, very quickly doesn’t it?
Think again. In our galaxy alone, which is made up of more stars than you can imagine, it would take four light years just to get to the nearest one! Now imagine how long it would take just to get across our entire galaxy. To put it in even more perspective, light is reaching the earth today from the farthest reaches of the visible universe that originated billions of years ago. In other words, when human beings look at that light, they are actually seeing something that happened billions of years in the past. How’s that for time travel?
So Special Relativity has effectively shackled us to the nearest reaches of our galaxy… or has it?
There is a phenomenon in subatomic science called quantum entanglement. What happens is two atoms become inextricably connected by a bond, and if one of these atoms does something, the other atom does something exactly opposite. But the strangest part of the phenomenon is that these atoms react to one another instantly, and without regard to the distance between them. So these two atoms could be at opposite ends of the universe, and they would still react instantly to one another.
Wait a minute. Didn’t Einstein say the universal speed limit is bound by light? So what’s going on? The answer: nobody knows. Even Einstein was befuddled by quantum entanglement. But the ramifications are clear — if it’s possible for any element in nature to transmit data (or force, or whatever) instantaneously — and the phenomenon of quantum entanglement has been firmly established scientifically – then Special Relativity either needs to make an exception, or it needs to be remodeled in a big way.
The implications are mind-boggling; imagine computers that could transmit binary signals instantly. It gives the word “wireless” a whole new meaning. And if it’s possible for these atoms to behave in this way, then theoretically, it should be possible for any atoms to behave this way — and that might mean space travel on a level we can only begin to imagine.
Just something to think about on a Sunday afternoon…
Paco
You can buy Paco's novel Discipline wherever books are sold.