Spooky Action at a distance

In the 1930s, Albert Einstein called it spooky action at a distance. He was right. This theory of quantum mechanics is spooky as two systems, even though separated by distance, both respond the same way at the same time. It wasn’t until 1964 when physicist John Stewart Bell turned a principle to a hypothesis.

Ph.D. candidate Bradley Mitchell is working at the Lab’s Advanced Quantum Testbed in superconducting quantum electronics and answers questions about this spooky idea.

Q: What are spooky actions?

A: It is a term coined by Albert Einstein in 1935 for the idea that tiny particles are linked together even though separated by long distances. Known as quantum entanglement, this seemed incompatible with his theory of relativity. For example, if we could link two coins through quantum entanglement when you flip one coin to heads, in principle the other one will instantly flip to heads no matter the distance between them. That is what makes it spooky.

Q: Was Einstein wrong?

A: His understanding was what was available to him at his time. In 1964 physicist John Stewart Bell took it to the next level by demonstrating that quantum entanglement does not violate Einstein’s theory of relativity, but instead is a unique feature of quantum mechanics. Bell’s work showed that spooky action was real.

Q: Can I beam up to the mothership with quantum entanglement?

A: Well, not really, but this does lead to a discussion of quantum teleportation. It’s not as flashy as it sounds. Quantum teleportation allows you to send quantum information from one party to another. It is used to communicate quantum information. Quantum information is a modern field of study that we use to solve problems that are difficult for conventional computers to solve. We know we will want to connect quantum computers so they can communicate with each other.