quantum entanglement

noun

: a property of a set of subatomic particles whereby a quantum characteristic (such as spin or momentum) of one particle is directly and immediately correlated with the equivalent characteristic of the others regardless of separation in space

In quantum entanglement, subatomic particles maintain a relationship—for instance, vibrating when the other vibrates—even when separated and even if they are at great distances from each other.

—Sean Hamill

Quantum entanglement occurs when two systems share a common quantum mechanical state. Such systems also share a common fate, even if they become physically quite separated. The results of a measurement performed on one will determine the results of future measurements on the second.

—Claudia Tesche

Examples of quantum entanglement in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Hard Science In quantum entanglement first, scientists link distant large objects Physicists create quantum entanglement, making two distant objects behave as one. —Big Think, 24 June 2024

March 19, 2024 10 min read Electrons swarm in a soup of quantum entanglement in a new class of materials called strange metals Copper, platinum, aluminum, gold. —Douglas Natelson, Scientific American, 19 Mar. 2024

In these metals, electrons seem to lose their individual identities, acting more like a soup in which all the particles are connected through quantum entanglement. —Douglas Natelson, Scientific American, 19 Mar. 2024

To carry out a computation, qubits are linked using the phenomenon called quantum entanglement, which makes their possible states interdependent. —Philip Ball, Quanta Magazine, 25 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1991, in the meaning defined above