6 ms·
Is it an allowed solution to have instantaneous information transfer between distantly separated points if there was a slower-than-light bulk transfer phase bef
by jloughry 12y ago
Is it an allowed solution to have instantaneous information transfer between distantly separated points if there was a slower-than-light bulk transfer phase beforehand? This is the idea of physically carrying a supply of entangled photons to Alpha Centauri, which might take a hundred years, then enjoying your Netflix streaming in real time until they're all used up.
- Filligree 12y agoNo. No cheating; quantum mechanics can still be a local theory, for some interpretations (most notably MWI), which forbids such an action.
- weavejester 12y agoAny solution that allows for FTL transfer of information violates causality, at least according to relativity. If you can transmit information over entangled photons instantaneously, you can use the time dilation effects of relativity to send information back in time to yourself.
- Mangalor 12y agoBut transferring instantaneously is theoretically possible through this method, correct? So am I right in interpreting that if we can transfer particles instantaneously, that information time travel must necessarily follow?
- nine_k 12y agoIf we can transfer information FTL, (backwards) time travel necessarily follows. See Kip Thorne's time machine schematics (mentioned e.g. here: http://www.andersoninstitute.com/wormholes.html http://www.andersoninstitute.com/wormholes.html). The only problem is that you need a wormhole to build it.
- weavejester 12y agoNo, not as far as we know. The no-communication theorem states that you cannot communicate information between observers via entanglement, at least assuming the laws of quantum mechanics hold.