31 Jan 09
When I first saw this article I thought it was something like a "sub-space message" from star trek. You know, faster than light. Then I read that it did not really violate Einstein's speed limit because it did not sent information. But this article says information was sent.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090122141137.htm
How do we know the information did not go faster than light? And what good is it if it does not?
01 Feb 09
Originally posted by Metal BrainThe only place where he (Monroe) tells anything about information communication is the following:
When I first saw this article I thought it was something like a "sub-space message" from star trek. You know, faster than light. Then I read that it did not really violate Einstein's speed limit because it did not sent information. But this article says information was sent.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090122141137.htm
How do we know the information did not go faster than light? And what good is it if it does not?
"Photons are ideal for transferring information fast over long distances, whereas atoms offer a valuable medium for long-lived quantum memory. The combination represents an attractive architecture for a 'quantum repeater,' that would allow quantum information to be communicated over much larger distances than can be done with just photons. Also, the teleportation of quantum information in this way could form the basis of a new type of quantum internet that could outperform any conventional type of classical network for certain tasks."
...and nowhere I can see that the information has travelled faster than light.
03 Feb 09
2 edits
Originally posted by Metal BrainIt would seem to be superior to EM radiation in at least one respect: It would appear not to be stopped by intervening matter, like a thin copper sheet will reflect an EM wave making it impossible to communicate by radio inside a closed off metal box, for instance, or deep underground in mines although the deep mine thing is not totally true, there are systems that can communicate by basically electrically vibrating the entire planet and you get maybe 100 bits per second through, useful for last ditch effort backup communications with submarines, for instance, but that is not enough bandwidth for even a voice message, more like Morse code.
Okay..
So it is useful for communication at longer distances than electromagnetic waves can? Is that the potential breakthrough?
If they develop this new technique to its fullest, it may give us TV deep in mines and such, totally bypassing Electromagnetic waves completely.
Don't hold your breath on that one though, my guess is something like that will come when we are pushing daisies in the local deadhead association🙂
I think so far, though, the speed will still be limited to C. I think the science guys think if you COULD communicate faster than C, there would be all kinds of timelike space loops and paradox problems, I think they have pretty much proven mathematically faster than C stuff is out of the question at least in this century.
Even limited to C, it would be a real breakthrough, communications between computer chips without using photons or electrons, that kind of thing, and a thousand other possibilities.
03 Feb 09
Originally posted by sonhouseWell, then we have tachyons. Yet to be experimentally found, but are theoretically there. Somewhere...
I think so far, though, the speed will still be limited to C. I think the science guys think if you COULD communicate faster than C, there would be all kinds of timelike space loops and paradox problems, I think they have pretty much proven mathematically faster than C stuff is out of the question at least in this century.
Now we can communicate with photons. We know how to generate them, we know how to detect them, we know how to do alotta nice stuff with'em.
Perhaps one day will come when we can do the same with tachyons, who knows. Then the universe is open to us, we can 'instantly' communicate with the whole galaxy, yeah, the whole universe in a jiffie! If there are someone there to listen, of course.
03 Feb 09
Originally posted by FabianFnasKind of like fusion? Always 50 years in the future...
Well, then we have tachyons. Yet to be experimentally found, but are theoretically there. Somewhere...
Now we can communicate with photons. We know how to generate them, we know how to detect them, we know how to do alotta nice stuff with'em.
Perhaps one day will come when we can do the same with tachyons, who knows. Then the universe is open to us, ...[text shortened]... alaxy, yeah, the whole universe in a jiffie! If there are someone there to listen, of course.
First, lets find tachyons🙂
But still, I think the big science guys, the Wittens and Greene's and Hawkings say there would be major paradoxes associated with faster than C communications, much less transport. News at 11🙂