The Weirdness Of Quantum Physics Just Got Weirder

Apparently, what we assume about how entangled photons come into this world is not entirely correct.
Photons — the fundamental particles of visible light — have been known to behave like particles in some instances, and like waves in others. And based on one of the most basic principles of quantum physics — quantum entanglement which says that when quantum particles are linked so closely together (or ‘entangled’), what affects one also affects the other — when photons are created in pairs, they originate from just single points in space. It seems we got that part wrong.

According to a study done by a team of researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in the UK, entangled photons don’t necessarily have to come from a single location; they can just as easily originate from different locations.

Led by Professor David Andrews, the team was studying a process known as spontaneous parametric down conversion (SPDC) wherein photon beams are allowed to pass through a crystal to produce entangled photon pairs. In theory, for each pair of entangled photons produced, the combined energy and momentum is supposed to be equal to that of the corresponding annihilated photon. Both photons should also show ‘correlated polarization’.

When the photons produced share equal amount of the input’s energy, the process is referred to as degenerate down-conversion (DDC). Before this experiment, it was always assumed that such paired photons originate from the same spot.

As Prof. Andrews explained in a statement they issued: “…the identification of a new delocalized mechanism shows that each photon pair can be emitted from spatially separated points, introducing a new positional uncertainty of a fundamental quantum origin.”

So now it’s known that entangled photons may or may not come from the same location. Moreover, it also appears that paired photons can behave differently once they are separated, even if they are supposed to be entangled.

“The paired photons can emerge with separations in their origin of hundredths of a micron – despite being entangled, it is as if they were not even born close together in terms of atomic dimensions,” Prof. Andrews told New Atlas.

What does this unexpected discovery imply for the science world? At the very least, this means that designing of quantum computers — those super computers that can theoretically perform calculations and solve complicated problems faster than any conventional computer can — may have to be re-thought and reassessed because the basic premise about how photons are generated now appears to be wrong. In other words, the weirdness of quantum physics just got weirder. And the little we know about it just became even more uncertain.

Will quantum physicists be thankful about this new information, or will they consider it an unwelcome disruption? We’ll know when the first quantum computer is finally built as this discovery could potentially expedite the process, or slow it down.

The research was recently published in the journal ‘Physical Review Letters’ under the title ‘Nonlocalized Generation of Correlated Photon Pairs in Degenerate Down-Conversion’.
April 1, 2017 WSP
Quantum Physics – Particles

QUANTUM PHYSICS AND THE DIVINE PROPORTION
We have seen that there is a mathematical beauty that interpenetrates all of nature and this phenomenon deepens the mystery of intelligent self-ordering matter. Some readers may already be familiar with the “Golden Section” and the Fibonacci numbers which reveal a staggering mathematical harmony in nature’s geometry that is deeply embedded throughout the construction of all matter. For millennia some of the greatest mathematicians and philosophers have marveled at the mathematical patterns that permeate all of nature. How is it that atoms can mysteriously come together to build molecules and molecules can come together to build matter with these same mathematical patterns that exist all the way up from quarks to solar systems? Why is there a mysterious mathematical relationship between the sub-atomic “parts” and the “whole” of the human body? There is such an intrinsic aesthetic beauty in the ratios and proportions found in nature that the mathematical monk, Luca Pacioli, first used the term Divine Proportion in the 15th century to describe this phenomenon. He wrote a book under the same title that was beautifully illustrated by Leonardo Da Vinci, who is credited with the conception of the term Golden Section. The exact mathematical proportion of the Golden Section has a specific number and that is ϕ, pronounced “fye.” Mario Livio, the author of The Golden Ratio, considers ϕ to be the “world’s most astonishing number.” In his fascinating book he has a chapter titled, “Is God a Mathematician?” Livio is inclined toward the view that “God is indeed a Mathematician.”2 He is compelled toward this conclusion because there are certain mathematical miracles that have been discovered that clearly exist independently of the human mind. He writes, To claim that mathematics is purely a human invention…ignores some important facts in the nature of mathematics. First, while the mathematical rules (e.g., the axioms of geometry or of set theory) are indeed creations of the human mind, once those rules are specified, we lose our freedom. The definition of the Golden Ratio emerged originally from the axioms of Euclidean geometry; the definition of the Fibonacci sequence from the axioms of the theory of numbers. Yet the fact that the ratio of successive Fibonacci numbers converge to the Golden Ratio was imposed upon us – humans had no choice in the matter. Therefore, mathematical objects, albeit imaginary do have real properties.3 As we explore this divine pattern in nature it strengthens the conviction that God is the author of nature and that His mathematical signature can be found everywhere in His creation. Remember that nature itself is a revelation of God and that all of nature declares the glory of God. King Solomon was fascinated by the wisdom of God embedded in nature. He said, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.” (Proverbs 25:2) “He composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs. He could speak with authority about all kinds of plants…He could also speak about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish.” (1 Kings 4:32-33 NLT) Solomon was intrigued by the revelation of God in nature! If he were alive today we might speculate that he would be fascinated by the divine proportion in nature. There are deep mysteries concealed in the heart of matter that only highly advanced technologies are capable of probing at the deepest level. We are living in an era when scientists are discovering nature’s secrets all the way down to the quarks and the leptons that make the sub-atomic particles within the atom and, amazingly, the same mathematical patterns are emerging within the quantum field!
Phil Mason
Quantum Glory
The Science of
Heaven Invading Earth

Of the many ways we could define the Divine Matrix, perhaps the simplest is to think of it as being three basic things: (1) the container for the universe to exist within; (2) the bridge between our inner and outer worlds; and (3) the mirror that reflects our everyday thoughts, feelings, emotions, and beliefs.
THE DiViNE MATRIX
BRIDGING TIME, SPACE,
MIRACLES, AND BELIEF
Gregg Braden