A new quantum physics experiment suggests that reality is not objective



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According to the MIT Technology Review, a new experiment in quantum physics has brought to light a stunning idea, hitherto limited to the theory, that two people can observe the same event, see two things happen. and both are correct.

According to a study published Tuesday on the pre-print server arXiv, physicists from the Heriot-Watt University showed for the first time how two people can experience different realities by recreating a classic thought experience in quantum physics.

The experiment implies that two people observe a single photon, the smallest quantifiable unit of light that can act as a particle or as a wave under different conditions.

The photon can exist in one of the two alignments, but until the moment when one actually measures to determine which one, the photon is deemed to exist in superposition – both conditions are true at the same moment.

In the thought experiment, a scientist discreetly analyzes the photon and determines its alignment.

Another scientist, unaware of the measure of the first, is able to confirm that the photon – and therefore the measure of the first scientist – always exists in a quantum superposition of all possible results.

As a result, every scientist has experienced a different reality. Both are technically true, even if they disagree.

To realize this idea of ​​a thought experiment, it took an experimental installation with lasers, beam separators and a series of six photons measured by various equipment replacing the two scientists.

According to MIT Tech, other researchers had previously developed the experimental setup, but this is the first time that the experience has been removed.

Although the research has not yet been validated and published by a university journal, its results concretely confirm the type of brain-blowing ideas that amaze undergraduates in physics – with respect to physics quantum, a shared objective reality.

This article was originally published by Futurism. Read the original article.

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