6 Times Quantum Physics Blew Our Minds in 2022
Quantum telepathy, laser-based time crystals, a glow from empty space
and an “unreal” universe—these are the most awesome (and awfully hard
to understand) results from the subatomic realm we encountered in 2022
By Lee Billings on December 19, 2022
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The quantum world defies common sense at every turn.
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THE UNIVERSE IS KINDA, SORTA UNREAL
This year’s Nobel Prize in Physics went to researchers who spent decades proving the universe
is not locally real—a feat that, to quote humorist Douglas Adams, “has made a lot of people
very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.” “Local” here means any object—an apple,
for instance—can be influenced only by its immediate surroundings, not by happenings
on the other side of the universe. “Real” means every object has definite properties regardless
of how it is observed—no amount of squinting will change an apple from red to green.
Except careful, repeated experimentation with entangled particles has conclusively shown
such seemingly sensible restrictions do not always apply to the quantum realm,
the most fundamental level of reality we can measure. If you’re uncertain as to what exactly
the demise of local realism means for life, the universe and, well, everything, don’t worry:
you’re not alone—physicists are befuddled, too.
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Quantum telepathy, laser-based time crystals, a glow from empty space
and an “unreal” universe—these are the most awesome (and awfully hard
to understand) results from the subatomic realm we encountered in 2022
By Lee Billings on December 19, 2022
----
The quantum world defies common sense at every turn.
-------
THE UNIVERSE IS KINDA, SORTA UNREAL
This year’s Nobel Prize in Physics went to researchers who spent decades proving the universe
is not locally real—a feat that, to quote humorist Douglas Adams, “has made a lot of people
very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.” “Local” here means any object—an apple,
for instance—can be influenced only by its immediate surroundings, not by happenings
on the other side of the universe. “Real” means every object has definite properties regardless
of how it is observed—no amount of squinting will change an apple from red to green.
Except careful, repeated experimentation with entangled particles has conclusively shown
such seemingly sensible restrictions do not always apply to the quantum realm,
the most fundamental level of reality we can measure. If you’re uncertain as to what exactly
the demise of local realism means for life, the universe and, well, everything, don’t worry:
you’re not alone—physicists are befuddled, too.
-----