Science writer Clegg (A Brief History of Infinity
), discussing the field of quantum mechanics, asserts that "[e]very experiment takes us a step closer to realizing just how strange the world is at the quantum level." Quantum entanglement is the oddest of them all. As Clegg explains it, entanglement occurs when two particles (photons, atoms, electrons, etc.) become so intensely linked together that for all intents and purposes they become part of one unit. The mystifying thing is that this link continues even if the two particles are in different parts of the universe: "Make a change to one particle, and that change is instantly reflected in the other(s)—however far apart they may be." Clegg does an excellent job of explaining this complex situation in nontechnical terms; he details the many experiments that have consistently suggested that entanglement is real. The implications for future technological advances are huge, and Clegg is at his finest as he embeds potential advances in a broad historical context. Data could be encrypted in unbreakable codes; computers could become thousands of times more powerful than today; objects, and maybe even living organisms, could be instantaneously transported. While highly speculative, these possibilities could change our notion of reality. 27 b&w illus. (July 6)
