Lately, I’ve been musing about quantum entanglement, a phenomenon wherein pairs of particles are strongly but inexplicably connected–so much so that the quantum state of each *literally* cannot be described independently of that of the other…even when they are separated by light years. If one moves, the other moves. If one is destroyed, the other is destroyed. Their invisible connection cannot be escaped or defied. How crazy is that?
Einstein, together with fellow physicists Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen, first described quantum entanglement in a paper published in 1935. The authors’ position was that this type of behavior was impossible and violated other principles of relativity. But they were wrong–the existence of quantum entanglement was recently demonstrated. Surprise!
Now, stay with me here, because this is pretty abstract and nerdy, but what if people could have a similar quantum entanglement? What if lovers could be separated by miles and still remain intimately connected, moving in concert with each other, completely unable to separate…but completely unaware of their cosmic unison?
Next, imagine what it would be like to take this idea one step further. What if these lovers could (because of relativity, the speed of light, etc.) exist in more than one dimension simultaneously–quantum particles entangled not just across space, but across time, creating invisible threads binding them together in some kind of eternal cosmic marriage? Could there be a reality in which two people have always been connected and always will be?
Two people intertwined in this way would never have to worry or wonder about the positions they held in each other’s lives, because no one and nothing could ever compete with their connection. No matter how long it was between times they saw each other, or even if they never saw each other again, the connection could not be severed. It would be simultaneously un-creatable (sorry for the made-up word) and indestructible. It would be unaffected by other realities or relationships–maybe even by death.
Kind of a romantic notion, right? I think Einstein would approve.
Cheers, Brianna