How does one make quantum entanglement resonate? A few young physicists and artists from Vienna have attempted exactly that. They call their project „Sounds of Entanglement.“ A show in which entangled photons take on the role of the conductor.
A report by Sebastian Lang
For a long time, physics was considered a realm of predictability. Everything neatly cast in formulas, a clockwork that one only needed to study long enough to fully understand the world. But then came quantum physics, along with chance. Suddenly, nothing was certain anymore. You can know a particle’s position or its velocity–but never both at the same time. Thanks to Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle. Einstein hated this, calling it „spooky action at a distance.“
Schrödinger’s Cat and the Chaos
Entanglement works roughly like this: two particles are coupled. Whatever is measured on particle A influences particle B – even if they are light-years apart. Still, without these confusions and paradoxes, quantum physics would be nothing more than a Schrödinger-like theoretical cat that no one would take seriously.
When Sound Meets Physics
The Viennese turned this into an art project: „Sounds of Entanglement,“ a project that is part of the QuantA research program. On a highly sensitive stage, called an optical table, they send entangled photons to two measuring devices named „Alice“ and „Bob.“ The measurement data then flies to musicians, who adjust their instruments accordingly. No human sets the tempo, but rather physics. There are also visuals by artist Enar de Dios Rodriguez, also controlled by the photons. And thus, a science-fiction symphony is born. (This is how it sounds like)
Why Austria?
The fact that such a project originates from Vienna is no coincidence. Nobel laureates Erwin Schrödinger and Anton Zeilinger have already made quantum physics history here. Austria has been at the forefront of this field for over a hundred years, thanks to a particularly philosophical approach. Physics students at the University of Vienna were obliged to study philosophy as well. This helps when dealing with things like wave functions and non-locality.
quantA – Austria’s Network
quantA is Austria’s excellence cluster – a network of all quantum physicists in Austria. It involves physicists from the University of Innsbruck, Johannes Kepler University Linz, the Institute of Science and Technology Austria, the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the Vienna University of Technology, and the University of Vienna. The cluster, primarily funded by the FWF, is dedicated to research, education, and nurturing young talent.
A team of scientists from this closely-knit quantum community is ready to tackle larger and more complex questions than could be addressed with regular programs and funding. QuantA develops quantum simulators to answer ambitious questions, such as those concerning universality in non-equilibrium physics and emergent many-body phenomena.
Unlike other centers and initiatives worldwide, QuantA pursues an especially ambitious research program that goes beyond the typical scope of quantum physics, bringing together a wealth of theories and experiments. Additionally, the cluster runs an engaged outreach and transfer program for the benefit of society and the economy, which includes the „Sounds of Entanglement“ project.
http://www.quantumscience.at/