Things Just Got Weirder

Delft University campus                                                                                                                                                                     arXiv:1508.05949 [quant-ph]

Scientists at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands say their experiment has proved that "entangled" particles that are separated by distance can communicate instantaneously. This reinforces quantum theory and undermines standard physics' principle of local realism. The idea that two particles could become so entangled that such communication could occur was rejected by Albert Einstein, who called it "spooky action at a distance." An earlier experiment could not definitively prove anything, as it contained three loopholes. As explained by phys.org, the scientists "set up two stations for creating photons entangled with an electron spin, far enough apart to close the first loophole. The entangled photons were all sent to a common third location via fiber cable where they were entangled under just the right conditions and measured (and tested for measurement with their entangled mate back at the original site)." The experiment was repeated hundreds of times over several days and achieved enough successes to close the second loophole. While the experiment is a huge leap in proving one of the most basic principles of quantum theory, it is still not definitive. There remains one final loophole to be closed, and the experiment that is expected to do that will be conducted over the next few years: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/22/science/quantum-theory-experiment-said-to-prove-spooky-interactions.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0