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6th October 2022 (6 Topics)

Nobel Prize in Physics: Breakthroughs in quantum tech

Context

Recently, the Nobel Prize committee decided to honour three scientists — Alain Aspect of France, John Clauser of the US, and Anton Zeilinger of Austria who have conclusively established the ‘theory of entanglement’ in Quantum Physics.

About

  • The awardees have made seminal contributions to have now enabled the possibility of a wide range of applications of quantum Physics.
  • Their experiments have conclusively established that the ‘entanglement’ phenomenon observed in quantum particles was real, not a result of any ‘hidden’ or unknown forces.
  • They can be utilised to make transformative technological advances in;
    • Computing,
    • hack-free communications, and
    • Science fiction-like concept of ‘teleportation’.

The Entanglement Theory:

  • By the start of the 20th century, the scientists observed that the behaviour of tiny sub-atomic particles like protons or electrons was not consistent with the classical Newtonion laws of physics.
  • Quantum Theory went completely against everyday experiences. It allowed a particle to exist simultaneously at multiple locations, a phenomenon known as
  • ‘Entanglement’ was another of several weird properties exhibited by these tiny particles.

  • As per the theory, Two particles, having ‘interacted’ with each other at some stage, were found to have got ‘entangled’ in a way that the behaviour of one produced an instantaneous reaction in the other even if the two were no longer connected in any way and were separated by very large distances.

India and Quantum Physics

  • ISRO, DRDO, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Science and Technology have all been interested in, and supporting, projects on quantum key distribution that will build these secure communication channels. 
  • Scientific groups at the Raman Research Institute have also made significant progress in these fields.

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