Lockheed Martin eyes quantum entanglement radar

We've got quantum dot lasers, cryptographic data networks, teleportation (saywha?), and a pesky company to boot, but the (in)famous defense contractor Lockheed Martin has apparently hit the loony sauce a bit too quickly on its latest patent application. In a proposed effort to concoct the ultimate omniscient radar, the firm is suggesting that it can break the boundaries of theoretical physics and create a "quantum entanglement" scanner that can "penetrate any type of defense to identify hidden weapons and roadside bombs from hundreds of miles away." The theory -- which hasn't been realized in a product just yet -- suggests that two particles can be joined so that whatever happens to one must also happen to its partner, however far apart they are, which could be used to detect contraband from faraway locales (or peek through suspicious garb). Interestingly, it doesn't seem that we're the only ones wondering just what type of Kool-Aid the outfit's R&D department is sipping, as a physicist at Manchester University has reportedly insinuated that even in the far-reaching world of quantum physics, "the mechanics are just wrong." Seriously, isn't a Big Brother blimp enough for you guys?

[Via Wired]

[DarkPenguin @ Mar 11th 2007 10:20PM]

They had something like this in "Ender's Game" that they used to communicate through the vastness of space. This theoretically equates to instant communication between two particles despite the distance even over a few hundred light years. Next step is the invention of the Warp Drive! Come on Scientist!

[Reikon @ Mar 12th 2007 12:27AM]

Ender's Game was also the first thing I thought of when I read this. Seems eerie since I'm in the middle of reading the series.

[Brennan @ Mar 11th 2007 11:08PM]

OFF TOPIC:

what ever happened to the prizes engadget was giving away? R the 5 ppl suppose to get their prize in the mail secretly without engadget announcing who got the prizes? I'm still waiting for my 8800 GTX ^_^.

back to topic, this is a neat n bad idea. This made is so terrorists dont follow on Metal Gear plans of launch stealth warheads *MGS: Twin Snakes*, yay; this prevents stealth ships from spying, boo.

[Znarfaggle @ Mar 11th 2007 11:15PM]

i was just thinking "philotic connections? ansible? Jane?"

[rcxAsh @ Mar 11th 2007 11:30PM]

Interesting. If any of you have played the Xenosaga series on the PS2, you may recall the term "EPR Radar." It is the radars that the ships use to scan areas light years in size instantly.

The EPR paradox, which the EPR Radar uses in theory, is actually based on quantum entanglement.

Those story writers at Namco (or whoever else thought of this idea first) might just kick themselves if Lockheed Martin develops something with this.

[matt @ Mar 11th 2007 11:40PM]

you do realize that the guardian serves the same purpose in the uk as the NYT does in america, right

[Matt W @ Mar 12th 2007 9:17AM]

Matt,

Who told you the NYT serves a purpose? I'm not sure if I know of one.

[Dave @ Mar 12th 2007 10:40AM]

"you do realize that the guardian serves the same purpose in the uk as the NYT does in america, right"

You mean they endorse everything Cheney says and out spies while simultaneously being called "liberal-leaning" by Neo-Cons pretending to be conservatives?

[Josh Warner @ Mar 12th 2007 12:38AM]

First, IAAPS (I Am A Physics Student). Okay, here goes:

Nice try Lockheed. The Ender's Game variant is far more plausible than what they are proposing. Entangling particles is a tricky and fantastically low-yield process, not to mention that all methods of entanglement I'm aware of have the particles begin in incredibly close proximity (read: atomic scale) and are conducted in the laboratory. It is true that they can be physically removed from each other after this while retaining entanglement, which is why the Ender's Game version is remotely possible (though it would require far more particles than we can currently create, entanglement would have to be retained over time, and extracting the information would be HARD).

Lockheed is now claiming they can entangle particles an arbitrary distance apart in the field? I seriously doubt that is possible. I expected better from Lockheed, and I am unsurprised they "declined to comment" on this - probably because of embarrassment.

[Spence @ Mar 12th 2007 1:03AM]

I've already patented Quantum Radar. Once Lockheed Martin gets the bugs worked out I'll be there for my chunk of the profits.

[ROMVS @ Mar 12th 2007 6:09AM]

Maybe they plan to use starfishes? Despite long distances, if you cut and regrow an entire starfish from an original starfish, the movement on one arm of one of the starfishes will cause a corresponding similar movement in the same arm of the other starfish.

[Alex Whiteside @ Mar 12th 2007 9:01AM]

I recall reading last year about an experiment (possibly just a thought experiment, but an experiment none the less) which exploited the quantum Zeno paradox to perform measurements of systems without actually disturbing them. The example they used was a bomb which is set off if you interact with a particle inside it: you want to measure the state of that particle without measuring it. Fascinating stuff, wonder if it's related.

[Matt W @ Mar 12th 2007 9:19AM]

And, if we're talking entanglement, why would they make the "hundreds of miles away" claim. Wouldn't it have more bang for the buck if they said "light years" away.

[Honky Adonis @ Mar 12th 2007 11:12AM]

Wait, did they just say they can get around the no-cloning theorem? Transporter here we come!

[cjameshuff @ Mar 12th 2007 11:28AM]

Most of the above comments are way off base. Quantum entanglement does *not* allow FTL communication. Setting the state of one particle of an entangled pair to some known state breaks the entanglement instead of changing the state of the distant particle...it can not transmit information. What entanglement means is that, if nothing breaks the entanglement, the relevant parts of the quantum state of a distant particle (established when the particles were entangled) can be inferred with a measurement of the local entangled particle.

In application to radar, one of each entangled photon pair could be directed into a delay line, the other photons being emitted as with normal radar, and the delayed photons could then be correlated with incoming photons to find the signature of the entangled partners that are reflected back. What you gain is better discrimination of your own radar signal from the other radar signals and intentional jamming, not FTL radar.

[Steve Jobless @ Mar 12th 2007 11:45AM]

It's all compressional, and align-able.
All you need is the antilogarithm.
It is really not squashed at all, only our way of interpreting what really IS.
The expansion can happen. But what is needed is a distinctive way to 'marry' the bonds/strings, so that a legitimate interpretation can be seen. Or else it ends up as nothing other than a typical 'quantum entanglement'. A mish-mash of noodles, or pea soup whichever you prefer.

regards,
Steve Jobless

[Rob @ Mar 12th 2007 1:53PM]

Me likes cookies...

[Murc @ Mar 12th 2007 11:16PM]

as far as I'm concerned, Lockheed hasn't impressed me since the Blackbird...(no, the U2 was not cool, and the F-117 was an ugly beast...in which for some reason always reminded me of darth vadar's helmet. (and the Black widdow would have been better then the Raptor).

oh, and "Big Brother Blimp"...its gonna be used to keep an eye on the enemy...last time I checked,thats a good thing. (unless your invested in defeat...cough democrats cough).

[GameboyRMH @ Mar 13th 2007 1:26AM]

I wouldn't underestimate Lockheed Martin, the company that produced the SR-71 Blackbird...in the 50s.

[Sean @ Mar 13th 2007 1:27AM]

Isn't this related to that wonderfully phrased Einstien observation:
"Spooky action at a distance"?