In 1964 John Bell proved a theorem2 allowing the experimental test of whether what Einstein derided as “spooky actions at a distance” actually exist. We will see that they do. Bell's theorem can be displayed with a simple, nonmathematical thought experiment suitable for a physics course at any level. And a simple, semi‐classical derivation of the quantum theory result can be given for physics students. These entanglement phenomena are today applied in industrial laboratories and are increasingly discussed in the popular literature. Unfortunately, they are also misappropriated by the purveyors of pseudoscience, something physicists have a responsibility to address.3 Students can be intrigued by the quantum strangeness physics has encountered at a boundary of our discipline.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
February 2010
February 01 2010
Bell's Theorem and Einstein's ‘Spooky Actions’ from a Simple Thought Experiment
Fred Kuttner;
Fred Kuttner
University of California, Santa Cruz
Search for other works by this author on:
Bruce Rosenblum
Bruce Rosenblum
University of California, Santa Cruz
Search for other works by this author on:
Phys. Teach. 48, 124–130 (2010)
Citation
Fred Kuttner, Bruce Rosenblum; Bell's Theorem and Einstein's ‘Spooky Actions’ from a Simple Thought Experiment. Phys. Teach. 1 February 2010; 48 (2): 124–130. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.3293664
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Sign In
You could not be signed in. Please check your credentials and make sure you have an active account and try again.
Sign in via your Institution
Sign in via your InstitutionPay-Per-View Access
$40.00
Citing articles via
Related Content
Einstein’s “Spooky Action at a Distance” in the Light of Kant’s Transcendental Doctrine of Space and Time
AIP Conference Proceedings (November 2006)
Spooky correlations and unusual van der Waals forces between gapless and near-gapless molecules
J. Chem. Phys. (November 2016)
Instant Random Information
AIP Conference Proceedings (December 2010)
Quantum tic-tac-toe: A teaching metaphor for superposition in quantum mechanics
Am. J. Phys. (November 2006)
Quantum Tic‐Tac‐Toe as Metaphor for Quantum Physics
AIP Conference Proceedings (February 2004)