The results have been published in the journal Nature.

The experiment is based on one of the most counterintuitive, yet, one of the most important principles in quantum mechanics: that vacuum is by no means empty nothingness. In fact, the vacuum is full of various particles that are continuously fluctuating in and out of existence. They appear, exist for a brief moment and then disappear again. Since their existence is so fleeting, they are usually referred to as virtual particles.

Chalmers scientist, Christopher Wilson and his co-workers have succeeded in getting photons to leave their virtual state and become real photons, i.e. measurable light. The physicist Moore predicted way back in 1970 that this should happen if the virtual photons are allowed to bounce off a mirror that is moving at a speed that is almost as high as the speed of light. The phenomenon, known as the dynamical Casimir effect, has now been observed for the first time in a brilliant experiment conducted by the Chalmers scientists.

“Since it’s not possible to get a mirror to move fast enough, we’ve developed another method for achieving the same effect,” explains Per Delsing, Professor of Experimental Physics at Chalmers. “Instead of varying the physical distance to a mirror, we’ve varied the electrical distance to an electrical short circuit that acts as a mirror for microwaves.”

The “mirror” consists of a quantum electronic component referred to as a SQUID (Superconducting quantum interference device), which is extremely sensitive to magnetic fields. By changing the direction of the magnetic field several billions of times a second the scientists were able to make the “mirror” vibrate at a speed of up to 25 percent of the speed of light.

“The result was that photons appeared in pairs from the vacuum, which we were able to measure in the form of microwave radiation,” says Per Delsing. “We were also able to establish that the radiation had precisely the same properties that quantum theory says it should have when photons appear in pairs in this way.”

What happens during the experiment is that the “mirror” transfers some of its kinetic energy to virtual photons, which helps them to materialise. According to quantum mechanics, there are many different types of virtual particles in vacuum, as mentioned earlier. Göran Johansson, Associate Professor of Theoretical Physics, explains that the reason why photons appear in the experiment is that they lack mass.

“Relatively little energy is therefore required in order to excite them out of their virtual state. In principle, one could also create other particles from vacuum, such as electrons or protons, but that would require a lot more energy.”

The scientists find the photons that appear in pairs in the experiment interesting to study in closer detail. They can perhaps be of use in the research field of quantum information, which includes the development of quantum computers.

However, the main value of the experiment is that it increases our understanding of basic physical concepts, such as vacuum fluctuations — the constant appearance and disappearance of virtual particles in vacuum. It is believed that vacuum fluctuations may have a connection with “dark energy” which drives the accelerated expansion of the universe. The discovery of this acceleration was recognised this year with the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Physics.

Source: Swedish Research Council
Photo: In the Chalmers scientists’ experiments, virtual photons bounce off a “mirror” that vibrates at a speed that is almost as high as the speed of light. The round mirror in the picture is a symbol, and under that is the quantum electronic component (referred to as a SQUID), which acts as a mirror. This makes real photons appear (in pairs) in vacuum. Illustration: Philip Krantz, Chalmers

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The word was originally coined in 1931 by the American writer Charles Fort to describe disappearances and appearances of anomalies, and he suggested that teleportation might explain allegedly ‘paranormal’ phenomena. Some suggest that it is difficult to tell whether Fort was being serious and genuinely believed in the idea of teleportation or was pointing out the inadequacies of mainstream science in using teleportation to explain and brush aside strange phenomena which fundamentally, perhaps, were just not understood.

In 2004 the Guardian reported that scientists had performed successful teleportation of atoms for the first time. It was reported that the teleportation was achieved by two teams of researchers working independently in both the US and Austria. They managed to transfer key properties of one particle to another using a laser light and without any physical link.

When talking about teleportation these physicists are describing the transfer of “quantum states” or information between separate atoms e.g the atom’s energy, motion, magnetic field and physical properties. Basically, what they did was teleport something called a “qubit” from one atom to another with the help of another third party atom which acted as the “teleportation state”. The whole thing relies on a process that exists in the atomic scale which Einstein liked to call a “spooky action” but is also known as entanglement – which basically means that two particles can have related properties even when they are far apart.

When the two particles become “entangled”, their separate quantum identities get blended so that a single equation represents both. This form of teleportation, however, is only really applicable to the creation of super-fast computers inside which teleportation could provide a form of invisible quantum wiring and supposedly these computers would be able to handle much more information than computers today at many times their speed.

In more recent developments, in fact, on January 22 2009 at the University of Maryland, it was reported that “scientists have successfully teleported information between two separate atoms in unconnected enclosures a meter apart, which is a significant milestone in the global quest for practical quantum information processing.”

This time scientists had succeeded in teleporting a quantum state directly from one atom to another, in separate, non touching containers, over a substantial distance. The difference here is that previously none of the procedures provided a feasible means of holding and managing quantum information over long distances but this one did. This method would allow for the production of quantum computers which could work considerably faster than normal machines. Scientists have suggested that this new combination “represents an attractive architecture for a quantum repeater, that would allow quantum information to be communicated over much larger distances than can be done with just photons.”

Unfortunately, teleportation is massively limited and not yet efficient enough to use even for the purposes described above and presently only applies to the realms of building faster computers. Unfortunately, it will be a very long time, to say the least, before we can teleport to different destinations around the globe. So unless you are up for traveling around as a tiny “qubit” inside “invisible quantum wiring” for now you will have to stick to what you know best: planes, trains, and automobiles.

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Since his death, Einstein’s fame has deepened and he is now an icon to rival any pop hero. He stares at us from any number of tee-shirts, magazines and posters. Time magazine named him the man of the twentieth Century and there is a small industry producing books to explain both his theories and life.

Why is he so famous? After all, fame in our age is rarely a reward for achievement or genius. If it were, then the answer to such a question would be an easy one. There is no doubting Einstein’s genius and his achievements were great. Much of what marks our modern world as distinct from past ages is touched or influenced by his work. Quantum theory, for which he was a founding father, has given us the gifts of our electronics and computing revolutions. The television and the laser, with its myriad of social and medical applications, not to mention its contribution to the telecommunications industry, are directly derived from his work. Relativity, his master work, has given us the big bang, black holes and a famous little equation that explains how our sun works and lies at the heart of our most destructive weapon.

Scientists continue to marvel at his work and creativity. What might once have been thought of as small morsels of Einstein’s larger works are now independent areas of research and are earning Nobel prizes for the scientists who investigate them.

However, for most of us, it remains a forlorn attempt to truly understand his theories, despite all the books on the market that attempt to explain them in simplistic terms. So his fame does not depend on our appreciation and understanding of his work. For the most part we are told of its importance and we accept the message.

Perhaps though, it is within the complexity and difficulty of his work that the answer to Einstein’s fame is found. We may not understand the theories, but we know they contain something of the mystery of life. At the time he published his revolutionary works, physics had become dominated by the practical application; Einstein turned everyone’s eyes to the heavens again. When he hit the public’s attention, with the verification of his General Theory of Relativity by the eclipse of 1919, the slaughter of the First World War had just ended. The world and its war weary population were ready for the transcendence that lay at the heart of Relativity.

We all feel the majesty of the universe when we look at the stars on a dark night. We all wonder and speculate what is there; what might be just beyond our site. Albert Einstein took the mystery of such questions out of the sky and brought them down to earth and he even provided some of the answers. It is little wonder then that we have feted him. Einstein’s fame rests on the simple fact that he put a little piece of magic in our lives.

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About the Author:
Alan Goodwin is a New Zealand writer. Read his HarperCollins published novel Gravity’s Chain which explores the themes of flawed greatness in the context of a modern drama.

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Physics is too often viewed with disquiet and as a subject best avoided. This is especially true of modern physics (as distinct from classical), which first took hold with the work of Einstein and Plank at the beginning of the twentieth century and blossomed under Bohr, Heisenberg and Schrödinger in the two decades that followed. The twin towers of modern physics, relativity and quantum theory was their gift. Yet which of us really understands the quantum duality of wave and particle, black holes, other worlds and string theory? Who of us really bothers to take the time to discover their meaning? Who of us, deep down, really wants to understand them? It all appears to be too hard and too counter intuitive.

This lack of understanding and lack of will to understand is a shame. In maintaining the gap, we ignore the fundamental and pervasive influence that physics has over all our lives. The world we live in is truly the world created by the modern physics of the last century and of those scientists who pioneered such exotic theories. Having a clearer view of the connections between science and its practical application helps us understand our world and break down the barriers between us and physics.

So how has physics forged our world? Well, much of the framework of the extraordinary lives we now live can be traced back to those great theories. The whole of the electronics industry and so computers, the internet and just about everything else we use almost every minute of the day rely on quantum theory through its crucial contribution to the development of the transistor. The laser is directly attributable to the work of Einstein in 1918 and as a result great swathes of our communications industry and health treatments have developed at almost unimaginable speed. And as if that list is not impressive enough there is the significant contribution of quantum to an understanding of chemistry and so DNA and all that genetic engineering offers in the future. Oh, and there is nuclear energy and the bomb.

As we face the threat of global warning and a future energy crisis, surely it is not too great a leap in imagination to believe there is a high probability that some of the answers to our future problems will come from the advances made in physics and its contribution to our technology and engineering capabilities; the more fundamental our understanding, so the richer the opportunities that come by way of technological advances.

An understanding of the importance of physics to our lives might in some small way help close the gasp between us and the sciences and the more the understanding – so there is the chance of greater participation by us in physics. It might help us all in the future – surely that isn’t too much to ask.

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About the Author:
Alan Goodwin is a New Zealand writer. Read his novel Gravity’s Chain http://www.gravityschain.com/ which explores the themes of modern science and its effects on our world in the context of a modern drama.

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The Universe is far more easy to understand if we stop trying to dissect it and classify it and put it in one of the Departmental Drawers in one of the Universities.

The one major difficulty that many of the eggheads who are studying and talking and writing about Quantum Physics (while they are getting their egos inflamed as well as their $$$grants) is that they leave out God.

I am not talking about one of the God’s of the dogmatic religions prevalent on the planet. I am talking about the Creator God, the Grand Architect of the Universe what the ancients speak about. It is the Creator God that has set everything that you and I know (and a great deal we do NOT know about) into motion.

The second thing that they leave out is that we live in a living, expanding Universe. It is alive and conscious just as you and I are alive and conscious only in a different, much vaster degree. It has a function, purpose and destiny just as you and I have a function purpose and destiny.

Stop analyzing and start enjoying. Stop seeking and let it BE.

The key to all the so called mysteries of the Universe, such as Black Holes and Super Novas exist in the Quantum Ocean. The Laws of Quantum Physics tell us that there exists an infinite Ocean of Thinking, intelligent energy called the Quantum Ocean. It is the Mind of God.

The Creator God put everything possible, everything that ever was, is or will be into this thinking Ocean of Energy.

We as human beings, ‘blinked out’ of the Quantum Ocean many times. Each time we blinked out it was called a life. Every time we died we ‘blinked back in.’

Why all this ‘blinking out and ‘blinking in?’ Because it is the process the Creator put into place to allow us to reach our goal, our destiny. And that is to become more God-like, more conscious with each new incarnation untill we reach ‘critical mass’ and do not have to live physically again.

The Universe and the Galaxies, Planets and Sun also ‘blink in’ and ‘blink out’ of the Quantum Ocean. The ancient yogi’s and Brahmin’s knew this.

No body knows the timing factor, but why do we have to? It is not important. It is what my teacher called ‘Decorative’ knowledge. What we need to pay attention to is ‘functional knowledge.’ What we can do on a daily basis to grow and BE. We must be after our ‘Father’s’ work. And that work is to raise our levels of Consciousness, to become more God like, to EVOLVE.

Decorative knowledge may be fun to read about, but it has no real value for us.

I know that if a materialistic scientist reads this he will scoff at the childish simplicity of my words. I have two reply s. My teacher told me once, “…Unless you can talk about something in your own words so that others can understand you, you don’t know what you are talking about..”

And a greater teacher than him once said, “…Unless you become like little children you cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”

The Kingdom of Heaven is the Quantum Ocean, Mind of God. All the Answers are there and we do not need telescopes nor microscopes to get the answers.

The Quantum Ocean, Mind of God responds to all our thoughts and questions. The higher we raise our level of consciousness, the deeper the Quantum Ocean, Mind of God will reveal it’s secrets to us.

We don’t need technology or materialistic egg-heads. We need more consciousness and higher and better thoughts. We need to become more spiritually oriented.

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About the Author:
To see more of Ragnar Storyteller’s writings go to his websites: http://www.runes-for-health-wealth-love-now.com or http://www.olevikingshop.com Email for free 10 part mini course on using quantum physics daily epete@ptd.net

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