Quantum Entanglement

In 2022 Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser, and Anton Zeilinger won the Nobel Peace Prize for their experiments on Quantum entanglement—confirming that particles can stay connected across vast distances of space. This has changed the way we think of distance entirely. 

Two particles become so deeply linked that they share a single, unified state, no matter how far apart they are.

Measuring or changing one particle instantly affects its partner, even if they are light-years apart.

It sounds a little goofy. And it doesn’t fit in Einstein's ideas about Time and Space. Albert even called the idea "spooky action at a distance". 

These particles that are Quantumly entangled behave as a single entity rather than separate objects.

I asked a physicist to help me understand Quantum Entanglement. He was old and a little smelly. 

He asked me why I wanted to know about it.

I said to him, “It’s just interesting to me. That’s all.”

He raised an eyebrow in suspicious doubt. 

“That’s not all, is it?”

I hesitated before saying, “No.”

“Love?” he asked. 

I could only nod in response. 

“It is funny how often love leads people to Quantum Entanglement. Do you feel it?”

I nodded again. 

“Fascinating,” he said, his eyes alive with passion and curiosity. “Okay, think of Quantum Entanglement like having two magical dice; if you roll one and it shows a six, the other—anywhere in the universe—will instantly show a six, too. If you hear a certain song that triggers something in you, the particle–or in this case, the person you are connected to—will feel you're listening to the song; they might even hear it themselves, or remember a lyric or two. They may feel what you feel. Alas, though, there is no mainstream scientific evidence confirming that complex human beings can be Quantumly entangled.”

“But how did the two particles bond in the first place?” I asked. 

“Sometimes, what was once one thing, gets split into two. The Law of Entropy suggests that everything that was once whole, will eventually break apart. The total disorder of an isolated system always increases over time. It drives energy to disperse and systems to move toward equilibrium—a state of maximum disorder—meaning natural processes are irreversible. Things are assembled, and then, naturally, they disassemble. But the connection between particles stays even after disassembly.”

“Uhhh,” I said, so lost in the sauce.

“In general, interactions between two quantum systems will put the system into some joint state which will generically be entangled. Got it?”

“No.”

“Great!”

“So, love can bond two people together that they become Quantumly entangled, and no matter how much distance is between the two people, their bond remains?”

“That’s only a theory. But,” a manic smile crossed his face, “I think it’s a wonderful theory.”

“Can two particles that exist light-years away from each other ever be brought back together?”

He chuckled, “Boya, Quantum Entanglement suggests the two particles AREN’T separated by Time and Space.”

“What separates them, then?”

“Quantum Entanglement suggests that nothing separates them. That’s the beauty of it.”

“I don’t really get it.”

“No, I bet you don’t,” he leaned forward, “But you feel it?”

I nodded. “Yes, I feel it.”

“Incredible.”

-CH 3/26/26