Spanish scientists have successfully created a state of quantum entanglement in a system of 15 trillion hot and chaotic atoms. This is a 100 times greater number of atoms than the previous record.
Quantum entanglement is a special quantum phenomenon, which has no reciprocal in classical physics. Quantum entanglement occurs when we have particles that appear in pairs or in groups, sharing the same space in such a way that we cannot distinguish them.
Illustration of a gas cloud with atoms in quantum relationships.
We are forced to accept particles as a single quantum state. Even if the particles are far apart, they should be seen as a whole, not as separate components. Interestingly, operations on one particle have an effect on the second, even when the two are very far apart in the universe.
The new state of quantum entanglement could be used to detect particularly weak magnetic signals in the brain, to refine medical diagnoses.
Quantum entanglement is a very fragile state – it is studied at very low temperatures, near absolute zero. However, this time the scientists focused on the metal rubidium (Rd) which evaporates at a temperature of 177 degrees Celsius. In this state, the atoms are not isolated but collide with each other. Despite the chaos in the system, the scientists discovered that a large number of atoms (nearly one-third of the atoms) are quantum related.
This is a very surprising phenomenon. Quantum entanglement is “broken” for a few tiny fractions of a second, but then new states of quantum entanglement emerge.
“If we maintain the measurement, we see that quantum entanglement occurs in about 1 millisecond (1/1,000 of a second). That means that in a second there appear 1,000 new waves of quantum entanglement of 15 trillion atoms. 1 millisecond is a very long time for atoms; long enough for 50 random collisions,” said scientist Jia Kong at the ICFO Photonic Science Research Institute in Barcelona (Spain).
Atoms can behave like tiny magnets, and quantum bonding increases their ability to “feel”. The quantum federation system, besides being used to detect weak magnetic fields generated by the brain, could also be used in sensitive medical diagnostic devices or in neurosurgery.