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00:00 Quantum entanglement is an incredibly unique and bizarre phenomenon where two particles can be linked with one another,
00:06 no matter how far the distance between them.
00:09 This concept is exclusive to quantum mechanics and has no equivalent in Newtonian physics.
00:15 But can the effects of this incredible reality be felt by people as well?
00:19 This is Unveiled, and today we're answering the extraordinary question;
00:24 Is quantum entanglement possible between human beings?
00:28 Do you need the big questions answered?
00:30 Are you constantly curious?
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00:34 And ring the bell for more thought-provoking content!
00:38 Throughout life, everyone will find themselves making meaningful bonds with those they encounter
00:43 and the friends they connect to.
00:45 Sometimes these links can feel so strong that individuals feel attached to one another
00:50 in a way that's beyond regular physicality.
00:53 But could an argument be made that the feelings of this sort - love, friendship, trust, etc. -
00:59 are partly or wholly influenced by quantum entanglement?
01:03 First, we need to take a step back and explain the concept more fully.
01:07 The idea originated in 1935 with none other than Albert Einstein,
01:11 alongside research associates Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen.
01:16 Their paper imagined two particles that interacted with each other
01:19 in a way that linked their spatial coordinates and momentum.
01:22 It was found that by determining either the position or momentum of one system,
01:27 one could infer the position or momentum of the other.
01:29 This would then imply that the second particle must have had a definite position and momentum
01:34 before the measurement had been made.
01:36 But that would violate one of the fundamental laws of quantum mechanics,
01:40 the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle,
01:42 which states that it's impossible to know both a particle's exact position and momentum.
01:46 It's heady science, but Einstein called it the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen, or EPR, Paradox.
01:53 Following the release of this paper, the renowned physicist Erwin Schrödinger wrote a letter to Einstein,
01:58 referring to the concept as "verschränkung", which translates into English to mean "entanglement".
02:04 Schrödinger subsequently published two papers on the concept, stating that it was, quote,
02:09 "the characteristic trait of quantum mechanics,
02:11 the one that enforces its entire departure from classical lines of thought", end quote.
02:16 Regardless of being responsible for conceiving the idea,
02:19 both Einstein and Schrödinger were unhappy with the concept,
02:22 primarily because it implied that information could be transferred between particles
02:27 faster than the speed of light.
02:29 This went directly against Einstein's own theory of general relativity,
02:32 which postulates that nothing can move faster than light does.
02:36 It was famously dubbed "spooky action at a distance" by Einstein,
02:40 who saw in this early form of entanglement
02:42 evidence that quantum theory did not provide a complete description of reality.
02:47 The papers on the EPR Paradox generated a lot of attention in the scientific community,
02:52 but unfortunately, at the time, no methods existed to put the hypothesis to the test.
02:57 Following on from it, though, in 1964, another physicist, John Stuart Bell,
03:02 showed that one of EPR's key assumptions, the principle of locality,
03:07 didn't agree mathematically with quantum theory.
03:10 To simplify the principle of locality, it basically states that for one object to influence another,
03:15 it needs to touch that other object.
03:17 It also means that for an object to travel from one point to another,
03:21 there has to be a direct connection between the two locations in space.
03:25 So, you can't just teleport from one place to another.
03:28 And if a theory follows this rule, we call it a "local theory".
03:32 Bell then formulated something called the "Bell Inequality",
03:35 and stated that if quantum mechanics violated this inequality experimentally,
03:39 it could not be thought of as a local theory.
03:42 Not long after this, in 1972, John Clauser and Stuart Friedman
03:47 pitched an experiment to finally put quantum entanglement to the test.
03:51 And in doing so, they found clear evidence that two entangled particles
03:55 are able to transfer information between each other faster than the speed of light.
03:59 Thus showing experimentally that quantum physics doesn't preserve locality,
04:03 alongside proving quantum entanglement for the first time ever.
04:07 In turn, this showed that the EPR paradox wasn't really a paradox at all.
04:12 In fact, entanglement works wonderfully well with the framework of quantum mechanics.
04:17 While Einstein believed quantum mechanics to be incomplete,
04:20 and that there were hidden variables responsible for transmitting information beyond the speed of light,
04:25 in actuality, nothing is being transmitted.
04:28 The particles are both linked to one another via entanglement,
04:31 but they are still unable to send signals or objects between each other.
04:35 To explain this in more simple terms, imagine splitting up a pair of identical socks,
04:40 putting them in separate packages, and posting them to opposite sides of the Earth.
04:44 From opening the package and looking at the sock they're in,
04:47 the colour, size, and shape of the other sock can be inferred.
04:51 Yet nothing has been transferred between the two socks during this process.
04:55 Since then, more experience have successfully shown evidence of entanglement.
04:59 By this point, there's almost no doubt in the scientific community that the effect is real.
05:03 Two particles can be entangled no matter how far apart they are,
05:07 and making measurements of one particle's physical properties conveys information about the other.
05:12 For example, you can measure their position, spin, and momentum, among other things,
05:17 and there will be appropriate correlations.
05:19 There are various mechanisms that can be responsible for creating entangled particle pairs,
05:24 but generally all particles that interact physically can become entangled with one another.
05:28 An example of this is a light source emitting two photons simultaneously.
05:33 The orientation of their oscillations will be completely random when measured,
05:37 but an entangled pair will always have matching orientations.
05:41 So, if one photon is measured to be oscillating vertically,
05:44 its partner particle will also be oscillating vertically when measured.
05:48 And so, to get back to our title question, perhaps surprisingly,
05:51 one place where scientists predict entanglement to be common is within our very own brains.
05:56 Some make the argument that the immense power of our brains arises from quantum processes,
06:01 including entanglement.
06:03 In 2022, researchers from the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience
06:07 claimed to have successfully observed entanglement within the brain,
06:11 mediated by consciousness-related functions.
06:14 This experiment was done using an MRI machine,
06:17 powerful enough to measure the spins of protons from water in the brain.
06:21 The research implies that the way our brains function could not be wholly described by classical physics,
06:26 and that they could instead be powerful quantum systems.
06:30 While these results are an excellent starting point,
06:32 as of writing they've not been confirmed by other researchers,
06:36 there's a possibility that the observed effects were caused by a separate process.
06:40 Currently, how our brain works is one of the biggest mysteries known to humanity.
06:44 Furthering our understanding of the human mind would have numerous applications, though.
06:48 For example, it could help advance our understanding of quantum computing,
06:52 and it will definitely aid us in knowing how to maintain and heal our minds.
06:57 So, there's evidence to suggest entanglement is happening within our own brains.
07:01 But what about between two separate brains?
07:03 Currently, there's no active research on the topic,
07:06 and it's likely to stay that way until we figure out how entanglement plays a part in individual people.
07:11 Regardless, plenty of speculation has been made as to whether the effect has a role in human connections,
07:17 especially love.
07:18 The two concepts are broadly unrelated, but harbour a number of parallels.
07:23 When we have a strong connection to our partner, it can feel like our minds are entangled,
07:27 as if they're separate elements of the same state of consciousness.
07:31 Currently, as things stand, the quantum entanglement of microscopic particles
07:35 is incredibly unlikely to produce a macroscopic effect that can alter human emotions.
07:40 Certainly, it is possible for atoms in two separate brains to become entangled,
07:44 but the chances of this happening between you and the love of your life
07:47 are as high as the chances of elements in your brain being entangled with a distant asteroid.
07:52 And even if the minds of a couple were entangled,
07:55 it would not allow for information transfer or the strengthening of romantic bonds.
08:00 It would simply mean that if scientists could take measurements of one person's subatomic particles,
08:04 they could infer properties about the other person's as a result.
08:08 In conclusion, realistically, entanglement produces effects that are observed exclusively with subatomic particles.
08:15 It is therefore theoretically conceivable that systems on our scale can become completely entangled with one another.
08:21 But to get there would require a great deal of isolation and control.
08:25 The concept of entanglement remains one of the most interesting and exciting fields in modern-day physics,
08:30 and a substantial amount of poetic parallels can be drawn between the connection of two particles
08:35 and the bonding of two people.
08:37 Unfortunately, the current state of technology isn't capable of verifying a link between humans and the quantum world.
08:44 But irrespective of this, it's still worthwhile to appreciate the beauty of the similarities between the two.
08:50 What do you think? Is there anything we missed? Let us know in the comments.
08:54 Check out these other clips from Unveiled, and make sure you subscribe and ring the bell for our latest content.