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Einstein's brilliant mistake: Entangled states - Chad Orzel

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When you think about Einstein and physics, E=mc^2 is probably the first thing that comes to mind. But one of his greatest contributions to the field actually came in the form of an odd philosophical footnote in a 1935 paper he co-wrote -- which ended up being wrong. Chad Orzel details Einstein's "EPR" paper and its insights on the strange phenomena of entangled states.

The simplest test of entanglement uses a detector that makes a “click” when it detects state 1, but does nothing for state 0. The lack of a click is then taken as a measurement of state 0. If the detectors are not 100% efficient, though (that is, they occasionally fail to produce a “click” when they’re supposed to), this opens a loophole in the experiment that might allow a local hidden variable theory to survive. How might this work?

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TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Chad Orzel
  • Director Camilla Gunborg Pedersen, Zsuzsanna Banyai
  • Narrator Addison Anderson

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