One concerns the phenomenon known as entanglement, a type of correlation between different particles or qubits that is stronger than any classical correlation between the properties of two objects.
> Vedral and I have shown that the science of can and can’t predicts what transformations are possible for two qubits interacting with another object that may or may not obey quantum theory, such as a macroscopic biomolecule, or even gravity.
YOUTUBE myqaUgDDCHc New directions in Constructor Theory and the foundations of physics
As a result, we can test for the presence of elusive quantum effects in an unknown system by setting up an experiment in which this “mystery” object is the only channel of interaction between the two qubits. If the mystery object can entangle the qubits, then we can conclude that it must have some quantum features, in a way that is independent of the laws of motion governing the unknown system.
Several groups are now trying to test this experimentally, having the qubits be two quantum masses and the unknown system be gravity. If entanglement were to be observed, it would be the first empirical refutation of classical theories of gravity, including general relativity, as well as the first test of the principles of the science of can and can’t.
YOUTUBE sej8sLJpKy4 Chiara Marletto | The Science of Can and Can't
Chiara Marletto is a Research Fellow working at the University of Oxford. She researches foundational issue in physics. In recent research, she has worked on a new fundamental theory of physics called constructor theory, which is a generalisation of quantum information theory. For an overview of Marletto’s work, you can visit her website https://www.chiaramarletto.com Her research on constructor theory inspired her recently published book 'The Science of Can and Can't', which will be the topic of our conversation.
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As our technological and institutional creations have become more complex, our relationship to them has changed. We now relate to them as we once related to nature. The Enlightenment is Dead, Long Live the Entanglement.
Complex systems are tangled layered networks. The entanglements are both bug and feature. Sometimes our systems surprise us with brittle failure—faults in a remote part of the system cascade into large scale failures. Sometimes our systems surprise us when they work at all—the entanglements sometimes support emergent behavior that acts like a safety net instead of a weakest link. Here we offer examples of tangled layered networks.