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Quantum communication: when 0 + 0 is not equal to 0

arxivblog.com — One of the lesser known cornerstones of modern physics is Claude Shannon ’s mathematical theory of communication which he published in 1948 while juggling and unicycling his way around Bell Labs. Shannon’s theory concerns how a message created at one point in space can be reproduced at another point in space. He calls the conduit . . .

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  • juliehardman, on 08/06/2008, -1/+4Here is one for quantum physics! The old double slit experiment says that by the mere action of observing the phenomenon the observer is changing the outcome. What if the mere act of trying to observe ghosts we are inadvertently changing the outcome of our observation and this is why we don't see or perceive them as we would hope to.
    • tehknotte, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0:O i never thought of it that way! you might be on to something, this sounds right!
    • tehknotte, on 08/07/2008, -0/+1this video can help understand this phenomenon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_BzTMeV4HI
      this semester in physics i had no idea what's going on and i was glad to see this video because I finally felt like I was getting somewhere in understanding.
      • sodade, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0OMG - this cartoon explained it perfectly in 5 mins. Brilliant link - much thanks. (off to go watch the rest of these)
      • umbrellainabin, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0if this is a rick roll im gonna be pissed
      • umbrellainabin, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0oh
      • skeez86, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0The video shows a pretty good explanation of the experiment. This video is far from factual though. The movie tries to distort quantum mechanics to support mystical ideas. In the movie they claim we create reality with our thoughts which is absolutely absurd. In fact the reputable people that did appear in the movie were edited to support their claims (source at end)

        Do not use this movie for factual information!

        source: http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/feature/2004/09/16/ ...
    • cheezwhip, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0The double split experiment says nothing about the Heisenberg uncertainty principle of which you are referring.
    • rodrigo74, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0*he he slit*
    • FredFredrickson, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0Maybe because ghosts don't exist?
    • sodade, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0Doesn't the whole "observation changes behavior" thing seem like there is a proof for a "martix-like" reality in there somewhere? I'm surprised that the church hasn't latched on to it as some kind of proof for a creator/god/thing.
      • carterartist, on 08/07/2008, -1/+1then they would have to admit that science might be valid...
    • pckbeta, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0Well, the Heisenberg uncertainly principle (which is completely different than double slit), is referring to phenomena on the quantum level. When that is expanded to the macroscopic level, the infinite number of microstates in the superposition of an object makes that a moot point, since everything just averages out to approach a constant true value.

      Basically, you have no idea what you are talking about, go take a class in quantum mechanics. A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing.
  • ironeus, on 08/06/2008, -1/+6A very exciting branch of physics that can innovate technology in the near future.
    • ladbroke, on 08/07/2008, -0/+1You didn't say anything whatsoever, but you said it first. That's what counts.
      • shutaro, on 08/07/2008, -0/+1Oh so dishwasher, purple socks the exhausted firehouse!
  • Fangsinmybeard, on 08/06/2008, -0/+2Wow! That can certainly reset the provability of M-theory into a testable model.
  • jman583, on 08/07/2008, -1/+1Why 0 + 0 is not equal to 0 (in quantum physics):
    http://xkcd.com/435/
  • repins, on 08/07/2008, -1/+22 + 2 = 5 for very large values of 2 :)
  • charlief, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0(does some math) .. so if you add 0+0, you subtract none..but if you divide by zero...
    oh shi...
    http://lexlibertas.com/wordpress/wp-content/upload ...
    • tehknotte, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0lol i dont think this is what they are talking about. they're talking about like channels that send quantum information, and they had two channels = to 0 capacity but together their capacity wasn't zero. I don't really understand it because it didn't really explain a lot.
  • MILFMOBILE69, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0Is there a mirror?
  • bzaks, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0Mirror?
  • CarnivalOfDust, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0When I saw the 0 + 0, I thought it was going to be about Digg's comment system breaking at +0/-0.
  • noisey, on 08/07/2008, -0/+1Paste the URL into google, click the "Cached" link under the first result.

    Your internet powers are weak.
  • kelder27, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0Can you really be a respected science journalist AND end your article with "Betcha!"?
  • kelder27, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0Can you really be a respected science journalist AND end your article with "Betcha!"?
  • vogelshock, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0I'm going to laugh my ass off when it's 2350 and we're all flying around in Enterprises.
  • sfaiku, on 08/07/2008, -0/+3"But ask a physicist what the capacity is of a quantum information channel and she’ll stare at the floor and shuffle her feet."

    PC *****. Most physicists are male, so use the masculine pronoun.
    • DforSpiD, on 08/08/2008, -0/+1Maybe it isn't PC at all, maybe it's saying only the females can't figure it out...

      Well ok maybe that's a bit of a strectch
  • Canadian0207, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0"The capacity of a communications channel is hugely important idea. It tells you, among other things, the rate at which you can send information from one location to another, without loss. If you’ve ever made a phone call, watched television or surfed the internet you’ll have benefited from the work associated with this idea."


    Without loss?? I don't think so, almost all signals including phone calls, surfed internet, and television experience some sort of signal loss or dropped packet of data.

    Buried for inaccurate
    • Jarasmen, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0Yes, they do. However, Shannon's theorem allows you to calculate the rate at which information can be transferred through the channel without too much loss (as in - so much that the information is useless on the other side).
      I'm no expert on communication technology, only did a minor course last semester, and, let's just say, I wasn't very serious about it. Here's more to read if you're interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noisy_channel_coding_ ...
  • leerayIG88, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0I see, tricky question. it's "00"
  • stikkitjim, on 08/07/2008, -0/+1um... put 0 and 0 into a NOR gate and you get 1....
  • spaceyraygun, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0NaN is a number but does not equal itself...
  • seraph582, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0"ask a physicist what the capacity is of a quantum information channel and she’ll stare at the floor and shuffle her feet. Despite years of trying, nobody has been able to update Shannon’s theory of communication with a quantum version."

    Well, knowing the exact value isn't as important as simply knowing that the value is relative to the maximum number of quanta of the involved computational unit, correct? And perhaps that there may be a law of diminishing return from increasing said maximum quanta.
    • seraph582, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0also, HOLY ***** - that blog has some REALLY INTERESTING articles!!
  • gn0stik, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0Lotsa quantum articles today. Someone find a new favorite blog?
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