Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Hardy's Paradox Observed Directly

Another aspect of Quantum Mechanics is now well-tested and verified. Physicists in Japan has now managed to observe one aspect of the Hardy's Paradox using a weak measurement on the photon pairs.

The experiment, based on Lucien Hardy's thought experiment, which follows the paths of two photons using interferometers, instruments that can be used to interfere photons together, is believed to throw up contradictory results that do not conform to our classical understanding of reality. Although Hardy's Paradox is rarely refuted, it was only a thought experiment until recently.

Using an entangled pair of photons and an original but complicated method of weak measurement that does not interfere with the path of the photons, a significant step towards harnessing the reality of quantum mechanics has been taken by these researchers in Japan.


The paper was published in New Journal of Physics, which means that you can get a direct access to the paper for free.

Zz.

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