Uncertainty Sets Limits On Quantum Nonlocality

An anonymous reader writes "Research in today's issue of the journal Science helps explain why quantum theory is as weird as it is, but not weirder. Ex-hacker Stephanie Wehner and physicist Jonathan Oppenheim showed that the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle sets limits on Einstein's 'spooky action at a distance.' Wired reports that the discovery was made by 'thinking of things in the way a hacker might' to uncover a fundamental link between the two defining properties of quantum physics (abstract, supplement). Oppenheim describes how uncertainty and nonlocality are like coding problems, enabling us to make a quantitative link between two of the cornerstones of quantum theory."

Comments

for the lulz

[Pojut]

I want to believe in quantum physics, but I'm not sure.

Re:for the lulz

[Anonymous Coward]

That's like saying you want to believe in helicopters or fried chicken.

I don't know... "airplanes or fried chicken", maybe. But if you ask most pilots, belief is the only thing that keeps helicopters in the air!

Re:for the lulz

[Anonymous Coward]

That makes sense. Quantum physics is needed to describe the behaviour of extremely small objects.

Re:for the lulz

[idontgno]

And delicious golden Brownian motion.

Re:for the lulz

[camperdave]

But if you ask most pilots, belief is the only thing that keeps helicopters in the air!

Nonsense! Helicopters fly because they are so ugly that the ground repels them.

Re:for the lulz

[tom17]

He only ruined it if you read the post. Until you observed it, it was both ruined and not ruined.

You just shouldn't have read it.

Re:for the lulz

[maxwell demon]

Yes, that's called the collapse of the whoosh function.

Re:hmmm

[mrjb]

That's just because a rock accidentally gets misplaced here and there.

Einstein, Heisenberg...

[srussia]

Heck, they even hinted at Gödel. Why not throw in Monty Hall too... wait, they did.

a coding problem?

[phantomfive]

describes how uncertainty and nonlocality are like coding problems,

In that case, I guarantee there is a bug.

Re:a coding problem?

[Monkeedude1212]

It's because when God was whipping things up he had just switched to Dvorak - and he couldn't find the semicolon because it was under his left hand. To remedy this - he ported the universe to VB.

Re:a coding problem?

[maxwell demon]

Yes, the universe is full of Heisenbugs.

Re:Locality == Free Will?

[adonoman]

No, it's the absolute determinism of the universe that is stopping from concluding that the universe is deterministic. Neither you, nor locality had any choice in the matter.

Re:Define 'observe'

[guybrush3pwood]

None, I repeat NONE of the articles I have ever read actually even remotely begins to touch upon that subject.

Perhaps they don't touch it because you read them. Don't read them, and there's a 50/50 chance they will...

Re:Locality == Free Will?

[delinear]

I think maybe this?

Re:Define 'observe'

[Anonymous Coward]

So what you're saying the the universe uses "just in time" physics.