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willofgod
31-03-2009, 08:12 AM
From time to time physics related stuff gets in the news and the media have a circus, remember the cold fusion hysteria... actually thats starting to make a come back under the guise of low energy nuclear reactions (LENR... it'll be in the news again soon).

Anyway, check this out, I think this article is simply stunning (if your into sciency things like me):
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It would appear that you can record images using 1 half of a tangled quantum pair. If you've never heard of quantum entanglement, it states that two subatomic particles can become entangled with each other in such a way that you can only think of the two particles as being one entity, regardless of the fact they're physically separate and the distance apart they are.

For example, suppose Villan and Envoy were entangled in the same way and I punched Villan in the stomach. Envoy would feel it too... instantly, even if he was on the other side of the universe... Now thats an amazing fact in itself as it means there is some kind of faster than light communication going on, or everything in the universe is physically connected in some way...

Anyway, back to the article. They are using one half of an entangled pair to take pictures of objects the other half is interacting with... Which to me is pretty f**king amazing! Why isn't this in the news? Its like something out of a sci-fi novel.

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Maggot
31-03-2009, 09:36 AM
So, your saying there's this technology where you can use one object, let's call it a receiver, to pass on information to another object, let's call it a broadcaster, a long way away? Crikey. Maybe this new technology will have a cool name like..........a phone.

Hang on.




:p

Seriously Willo, it is pretty cool. Especially the punching Villan bit.

willofgod
31-03-2009, 09:55 AM
Not quite. Old style phones that use/used copper are point to point meaning that you need to physically connect phone A to phone B to make the call.

This quantum malarkey is totally different. They are taking pictures using light that has NOT bounced off the object being photographed. Think of the imprecations. If you used sun light, ie light that has come here from a source a long way away then it seems reasonable to assume that entangled pairs of photons could be distributed all over the earths surface. Which means you could use this technique (in theory) to take photographs of things on the other side of the planet which you dont even have line of sight too.

Completely and utterly fascinating!

Wags
31-03-2009, 03:53 PM
:sqdull::sqdull::sqnerd:

r1ncewind
31-03-2009, 03:53 PM
my action-man walkie talkies do that. and they come with a compass.

Maggot
31-03-2009, 04:49 PM
Which means you could use this technique (in theory) to take photographs of things on the other side of the planet which you dont even have line of sight too.

Completely and utterly fascinating!


Oh. You mean mobile phones and google earth.

cool.

shifty
31-03-2009, 05:27 PM
Sounds a bit like the film "Weird Sciance " :roll:, or a bit like "Quantum Leap".

willofgod
31-03-2009, 08:37 PM
Your not getting it.... What if they continue to develop this (which they definitely will do) and figure out how to do it in realtime... and with video... and with a much higher resolving power? You could then use it to remote view anything you wanted to see anywhere on earth with no way of being detected!

And what if they then work out how to do it with entangled particles from a different part of the spectrum... say particles which can pass through matter? You could then use it to spy on anyone or anything... anywhere! Its frickin mind blowing!

Maggot
31-03-2009, 09:05 PM
Its fricking science fiction which is usually a good combo of science and fiction.

I'm not saying its impossible. I'm saying the turn around on something like this tends to be lengthy.

willofgod
31-03-2009, 09:12 PM
Agreed, but the fact it might be possible is pretty remarkable... to me at least, but I've always been a bit of a sci-fi nerd!

terrential
03-04-2009, 05:33 PM
how do sub atomic particles become entangled if they're not beside eachother?

I always wanted to ask a question like that...

willofgod
03-04-2009, 09:20 PM
I dont know actually. I know that protons can become entangled if they are smashed together, not sure how they then separate. And I have no idea how photons become entangled... presumably its the same way as protons.