Starlight-controlled entanglement experiment makes shared history unlikely

We're talking a slightly higher level of entanglement, here. (credit: Getty Images)

Quantum entanglement is one of the most difficult concepts in physics to grasp. In fact, I would go so far as to say that most physicists don't fully grasp it. That's not ideal, given that entanglement and tests of entanglement are key to understanding the Universe as we know it.

Entanglement and the non-deterministic nature of quantum mechanics also make people uncomfortable; a lot of people have hoped entanglement can be explained by some underlying deterministic physics. But new tests have pretty much burned the last of the get-out-of-jail-free cards for those who really, really don't like entanglement.

The question that underlies all of this is surprisingly philosophical in nature. Are we living in a world where all is predetermined? If the world followed the rules of Newton (and, later, Einstein), then we'd have to say yes. Given the starting conditions of the Universe, everything unfolds in a deterministic and predictable manner. Sure, we might not be able to predict every detail, but that would be due to our lack of knowledge about the starting conditions or a limited ability to compute.

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