I tried to get answers out of it that might not have been accessible plainly on the web. And this is what I got … can someone tell me if it gets to the heart of the matter? It seems to just remix text without answering my question. It bullshits that you can’t know what the other person had without changing it. The answer would have involved hidden variables and Bell’s inequalities I think
EGreg:
So how exactly is quantum entanglement different from when one of you discovers he has heads so the other must have tails
Quantum entanglement is a phenomenon that occurs when two or more particles become correlated in such a way that the state of each particle cannot be described independently of the others, even when the particles are separated by a large distance. This means that if something happens to one particle, it will affect the state of the other particles, even if they are far apart.
In contrast, when you flip a coin, the outcome of the coin toss is determined by the initial conditions of the coin and the forces acting on it when it is flipped. The outcome of the coin toss does not have any effect on the state of any other object, even if that object is correlated with the coin toss in some way.
EGreg:
But if I didnt look at the coin and sliced it in half, gave it to two people and they went many miles in different directions - then looked at their coin. They’d know what the other person had, without being able to change it. Isn’t that exactly the same situation? Specifically what is the difference?
In the situation you describe, the two people would not know what the other person had without being able to change it. This is because the outcome of a coin toss is determined by the initial conditions of the coin and the forces acting on it when it is flipped. The outcome of the coin toss is not affected by the state of any other object, even if that object is correlated with the coin toss in some way.
In contrast, in the case of quantum entanglement, the state of the two particles cannot be described independently of each other, even when they are separated by a large distance. This means that if something happens to one particle, it will affect the state of the other particle, even if they are far apart. This is a fundamental difference between the two phenomena
EGreg: So how exactly is quantum entanglement different from when one of you discovers he has heads so the other must have tails
Quantum entanglement is a phenomenon that occurs when two or more particles become correlated in such a way that the state of each particle cannot be described independently of the others, even when the particles are separated by a large distance. This means that if something happens to one particle, it will affect the state of the other particles, even if they are far apart.
In contrast, when you flip a coin, the outcome of the coin toss is determined by the initial conditions of the coin and the forces acting on it when it is flipped. The outcome of the coin toss does not have any effect on the state of any other object, even if that object is correlated with the coin toss in some way.
EGreg: But if I didnt look at the coin and sliced it in half, gave it to two people and they went many miles in different directions - then looked at their coin. They’d know what the other person had, without being able to change it. Isn’t that exactly the same situation? Specifically what is the difference?
In the situation you describe, the two people would not know what the other person had without being able to change it. This is because the outcome of a coin toss is determined by the initial conditions of the coin and the forces acting on it when it is flipped. The outcome of the coin toss is not affected by the state of any other object, even if that object is correlated with the coin toss in some way.
In contrast, in the case of quantum entanglement, the state of the two particles cannot be described independently of each other, even when they are separated by a large distance. This means that if something happens to one particle, it will affect the state of the other particle, even if they are far apart. This is a fundamental difference between the two phenomena