Is macroscopic entanglement a hidden property of all objects?

In summary, the physicist Walmsley suggests that quantum entanglement is a property present in all objects in our macro world, but it is not observable due to environmental interactions. However, a team using advanced technology was able to observe entanglement in diamonds before these interactions took over. There is some uncertainty about the validity of this experiment and whether it accurately reflects Walmsley's ideas.
  • #1
durant35
292
11
I came across an quote from a physicist so I wanted your opinion.
Most physicists, Walmsley says, believe that quantum entanglement is a property present in all objects in our macro world; we just don't see it happening. "In the everyday environment, objects are connected to other objects," he says. "They're sitting on the floor, wafting in the wind, and those connections are ways in which information and energy can leak out of one system into another." So objects lose their entanglement quickly. By using super-speedy technology, this team caught the diamonds acting entangled before environmental interactions overcame the effect.

Are objects in the macroscopic world really entagled or did he meant that they aren't in principle due to environment but it is possible to induce it in experiments?
 
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  • #2
durant35 said:
By using super-speedy technology, this team caught the diamonds acting entangled before environmental interactions overcame the effect.
Do you have a source?
 
  • #4
durant35 said:
There is no reference to the original paper in that Popular Mechanics article, and a search on arXiv on Walmsley's papers didn't turn up anything that seems to describe such an experiment (but he is very prolific, so I might have overlooked it).

This could very well be another example of a science journalist garbling things up completely.
 
  • #5
I guess he just meant that all macroscopic objects have the potential for entaglement in his first sentence, and in his second that interaction prevents it in our scale of everyday life.
 

Related to Is macroscopic entanglement a hidden property of all objects?

What is macroscopic entanglement?

Macroscopic entanglement is a phenomenon in which two or more large-scale objects become connected in a way that their properties are correlated and cannot be described independently.

How does macroscopic entanglement occur?

Macroscopic entanglement occurs when two or more particles interact and become entangled at a microscopic level. This entanglement then extends to the macroscopic scale through a process called decoherence, in which the particles' quantum states become mixed with the environment.

What are the potential applications of macroscopic entanglement?

Macroscopic entanglement has potential applications in quantum computing, communication, and sensing. It could also have implications in understanding the foundations of quantum mechanics and the nature of reality.

How is macroscopic entanglement different from microscopic entanglement?

The main difference between macroscopic and microscopic entanglement is the size of the objects involved. In microscopic entanglement, particles such as atoms or photons are entangled, while in macroscopic entanglement, larger objects like crystals or superconductors are entangled.

What are the challenges in studying macroscopic entanglement?

One of the main challenges in studying macroscopic entanglement is maintaining the entanglement over long distances and timescales. The fragility of entangled states and the effects of decoherence make it difficult to observe and manipulate macroscopic entanglement. Additionally, the complexity of macroscopic systems makes it challenging to model and understand their entanglement behavior.

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