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Quantum mechanics

illustration of quantum spin
Winter 2020

It’s a matter of spin

The quantum realm is incredibly fascinating but can be difficult to visualize. Washington State University physicists share a few tangible insights.

 

Michael Forbes, associate professor of physics and spokesman for the WSU Quantum Initiative says quantum’s advantage over classical Newtonian physics comes down to the phenomena called entanglement and superposition.

“This is a weird thing in quantum mechanics,” he says. “You can have a pair of quantum particles that spin in such a way that one points up and the other points down. Entanglement is the idea that they always have to point in opposite directions—if you measure one to be up, you … » More …