Nobel Prize 2022 – ‘Quantum Entanglement’

2022 OCT 8

Preliminary   > Science and Technology   >   Innovation and New technologies   >   New discoveries

Why in news?

  • Alain Aspect of France, John Clauser of the US, and Anton Zeilinger of Austria have won Nobel Prize in Physics 2022.
  • Their experiments have conclusively established that the ‘entanglement’ phenomenon observed in quantum particles was real, not a result of any ‘hidden’ or unknown forces.

What are the challenges posed by sub-atomic particles?

  • A few scientists observed that the behaviour of tiny sub-atomic particles like protons or electrons was not consistent with the classical Newtonion laws of physics.
  • A group of mostly young physicists made a series of astonishing discoveries.
  • Together they strung together the Quantum Theory, which described the bizarre behaviour of sub-atomic particles with remarkable accuracy.
  • But Quantum Theory went completely against everyday experiences. It allowed a particle to exist simultaneously at multiple locations, a phenomenon known as quantum superposition.
  • Entanglement was another of several weird properties exhibited by these tiny particles. The seemingly instantaneous communication due to entanglement had the danger of further unravelling the foundations of physics. Einstein proposed that there was something missing, and that Quantum Theory was not yet complete.

What is Quantum Entanglement?

  • It is the physical phenomenon that occurs when a pair or group of particles is generated and interacts in a way such that the quantum state of each particle of the pair or group cannot be described independently of the state of the others.
  • Potential applications of quantum entanglement:
  • This could be utilised to make transformative technological advances in computing, such as building the next generation of computers, called quantum computers.
  • It can also be used to ensure hack-free communications and the science fiction-like concepts of ‘teleportation’.

What is Quantum Computing?

  • It is the use of quantum-mechanical phenomena such as superposition and entanglement to perform computation.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Which one of the following is the context in which the term “qubit” is mentioned ?

(a) Cloud Services

(b) Quantum Computing

(c) Visible Light Communication Technologies

(d) Wireless Communication Technologies

Answer