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To: Ahban
I am thinking FASTER THAN LIGHT COMMUNICATION will soon be possible. Combine the newfound ability to "Freeze" light with this and you have FTL communication.

Here's how... Let's say two entangled photons are "frozen", they still keep their entangled properties, even if they don't move, am I wrong about that or do we not know yet? One photon is taken on a spaceship to alpha centauri. By manipulating the photon on earth, the one on the spaceship reacts. One type of reaction could be a DOT, the other a DASH. Presto, morse code, or even bits and bytes.

As in statistics, correlation is not causality. When you measure the polarization states of two entangled photons, you can no more say that event A caused event B than you can say that event B caused event A. For events with a "spacelike" separation (i.e., events with an invariant interval that is negative, which means that FTL communication is needed for a causal connection between them) the time ordering of the events is frame-dependent.

Suppose I keep two photons that are entangled. They resulted from the decay of a pi0 meson, and I've managed to catch each one in a box that is mirrored inside. The photons will bounce around inside indefinitely. At some point, Alice opens her box and measures the polarization state of her photon. Note that she can't choose the polarization state; all she can do is set up a filter which will either stop the photon or allow it to pass.

Bob opens his box at some other time (it doesn't really matter when, as long as Bob and Alice are far enough apart, because the time ordering of the events will be different for different observers). He measures the polarization state of his photon.

Later, Alice and Bob can compare notes, and see that the polarization states of the photons were correlated. If their filters were parallel, either both photons were absorbed or both were not; if their filters were perpendicular, one photon was absorbed and one was not; at intermediate angles, the correlation changes in a characteristic, angle-dependent way. But at no point was there any opportunity for Alice and Bob to send information to each other. There is no way either can divine the orientation of the other's polarization filter; the probability of any photon making it through the filter is 50%, regardless of orientation.

Go ahead an dash my dreams on this physie, just as I may have done to you on the "WE WILL FIND ET" thread.

You mean the probability argument? I still maintain that until you can enumerate all the ways in which life could have arisen, there is no way you can calculate how likely it was to have occurred.

102 posted on 07/18/2002 5:25:39 AM PDT by Physicist
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To: Physicist
As in statistics, correlation is not causality.

Very interesting post. Thanks. I was wondering. What causes the correlation?
104 posted on 07/18/2002 7:27:50 AM PDT by BikerNYC
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To: Physicist
I would like to know your thoughts to the link I provided ealier

Regards
105 posted on 07/18/2002 8:16:33 AM PDT by SkyRat
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