Consciousness of the Universe (Part 2)... Vinit Vartak ©
In the previous section we saw how things are uncertain in the world of quantum mechanics. Then the question arises in your mind that if the perception of a thing is from the point of view of the person who sees or observes, or if the thing manifests itself only when he sees it, then is everything around us false? Is the universe we experience false? Are the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, and the whole vast universe false? Albert Einstein had the same question. While Albert Einstein was making new discoveries in classical physics, Niels Bohr was laying down the laws of quantum mechanics. A verbal sparring ensued between Einstein and Bhor. Einstein said that if I don't look at the moon, will the moon disappear? So the answer is in classical physics is not. The moon will be there. But the laws of quantum mechanics said it might not be there.
Einstein, who was researching classical physics where there is certainty, found it difficult to digest the surprising laws of quantum mechanics. According to him the universe exists in definite form. It has some rules. Although there are many confusing things in the universe, they are bound by the laws of nature. The only difference is that you must understand the rules. Einstein said a very famous sentence about the certainty of the universe,
"God does not play dice with the universe."
God does not throw dice in the universe. We cannot predict exactly what number will come up after rolling the dice because there is uncertainty in it. But we can calculate the probability about it mathematically. Suppose the dice are thrown 100 times, which is the number that will appear maximum time? This is what the laws of quantum mechanics were saying. But Einstein could not accept this. According to him God, Nature, Prakriti do not throw dice, what is is eternal. There was a discussion about this among scientists at that time. On one side there is a strong and world famous scientist like Einstein and on the other side a scientist like Bhor who only supports the laws of quantum mechanics. Einstein decided to fight these theories. For this, Einstein decided to break the foundation of quantum mechanics. This was the origin of a law in quantum mechanics called Quantum Entanglement.
To understand exactly what quantum entanglement is, let's go back to the example of a disk in our previous section. Suppose a disk with a black side on one side and a white side on the other side of the back is engaged with another similar disk. (Entanglement) happened. So quantum mechanics says that these two disks are connected to each other beyond distance. Now let's go to the moon to understand this. Suppose we send one such entangled disc to the Moon and place the other on Earth. Now when I look at the disc on Earth, if it shows the black side, the disc on the Moon will show the white side.
Now, if you are getting a little confused after reading this, let's think more easily.Suppose you have a pair of shoes. This means that the shoes of both the feet are entangled. Now one of those slippers was sent to the moon in a box without showing it to you. The second shoe was placed on the ground in a box. The moment you open a box on Earth, you can tell with certainty which foot's shoe is on the Moon. On Earth, there is a sandal of the right foot in that box, but we can say that the sandal in the box on the Moon is of the left foot. Now you may have realized a little that what is entanglement. Now imagine sending this shoe to a galaxy 10 billion light years away. But does it make any difference to your understanding? If there is a sandal on the right foot on the earth, then wherever there is another sandal in the infinite space of the universe, you can recognize the same form sitting on the earth. Now here the real fun begins.
In quantum mechanics we see that a disk (for example) is not stationary. It is in super position state. If we assume that one of the entangled discs is taken to the Moon and the other is placed on the Earth. The disc that is now on the earth is constantly rotating. As long as I don't see (observe) her, I don't know what she is going to look like. The moment I look at her and suppose she appears in black form, the disc on the moon reveals its white form. Because these two discs are entangled with each other. Mathematically speaking, one disc is 1 and the other is -1. That is why both of them can stay in 0 i.e. Equilibrium state.
Now the confusion is increasing. When you take these disks 10 billion light years away (for example), this is the same form as the disk you see on Earth. This is where Einstein had an objection. According to him this is not possible because classical physics states that no information can travel in the cosmos faster than the speed of light. Then how did that 10 billion light year long disk get this information that the same dark form was seen on Earth. Because at the speed of light, this information will take 10 billion years to reach.
Einstein was confused after reading all these rules. Here I have written about discs but when it comes to particles we can imagine how extreme and incredible the confusion can be. Quantum mechanics states that entanglement obeys the law of microscopic particles like photons and electrons. The two entangled photons and electrons manifest their forms in opposite directions. For that, the distance between them does not matter. There is such a bond between them that one manifests his form and the other manifests his form opposite him at the same moment. It has no distance limit. Einstein was in no mood to understand this. He came up with a new theory that all this is impossible or something is incomprehensible to us.
This theory was named as The Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen (EPR) paradox. (It is named after the initials of the last names of the three scientists who proposed this theory.) It simply stated that the nature of a particle is determined by its entanglement. So no matter what you look at, it comes out the same. (If the disk on Earth were ever observed, it would appear black) So the second particle reveals the opposite form already determined. But we still don't know how the message is transmitted. It has some hidden variables. Which makes quantum mechanics and its laws all wrong. Quantum mechanics is a partial theory. Einstein's famous quote was,
Albert Einstein colorfully dismissed quantum entanglement—the ability of separated objects to share a condition or state—as
“spooky action at a distance".
But look at the glory of time, time has wronged the most intelligent and talented man in the world. Einstein was wrong and the laws of quantum mechanics were right.
In the next part, how it was proved, what experiments were done for it and how much Einstein was wrong, as well as what new avenues of research are being opened by proving all this.
To be Continue...
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